Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.00.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities raised their target price on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ opened at $56.07 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $50.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.19. The company has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.49 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.24. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $25.82 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.22 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Lazard will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s payout ratio is 79.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,679,058. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,679,058. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total transaction of $99,969.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,727,723 shares in the company, valued at $86,403,427.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 176,497 shares of company stock worth $8,658,086. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new position in Lazard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,650,000. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lazard by 10,306.7% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,235,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $62,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223,918 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Lazard by 5,770.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,064,431 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $53,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,298 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lazard by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $113,357,000 after purchasing an additional 206,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,102,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial advisory and asset management firm in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. It operates in two segments, Financial Advisory and Asset Management. The Financial Advisory segment offers financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, shareholder, sovereign, geopolitical advisory, and other strategic advisory services, as well as restructuring and liability management, and capital raising and placement services.