Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) was upgraded by UBS Group to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on LAZ. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Lazard in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Lazard from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Lazard from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 target price on Lazard and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.00.

Lazard Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE LAZ traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $50.70. The company had a trading volume of 893,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 959,669. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $49.79 and its 200 day moving average is $50.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 2.58. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $31.97 and a fifty-two week high of $58.07. The company has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04 and a beta of 1.40.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $770.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.91 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 35.02% and a net margin of 8.89%.The company’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 32,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction of $1,756,572.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 183,274 shares in the company, valued at $9,913,290.66. This trade represents a 15.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 2,324.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,099,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $264,096,000 after purchasing an additional 5,847,608 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lazard in the second quarter valued at about $66,547,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Lazard by 141.6% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,263,046 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $97,990,000 after buying an additional 1,326,370 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,305,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,690,943 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $73,214,000 after acquiring an additional 406,232 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is 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.