Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research cut Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $54.52 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.96. Lazard has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $61.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lazard will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s payout ratio is presently 79.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Callahan Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lazard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 52,965 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,727,000 after buying an additional 7,151 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at about $108,000. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,787 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Monument Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,809,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at about $530,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

About Lazard

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.