Wolfe Research Downgrades Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) to Peer Perform

Wolfe Research lowered shares of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $63.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Lazard Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $49.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $61.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $54.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.15.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The business had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 10.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $113,357,000 after acquiring an additional 206,295 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Lazard during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,322,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 69,760 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lazard by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,813,553 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $91,392,000 after acquiring an additional 15,151 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $296,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.