Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Receives $57.13 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.1250.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LAZ shares. Zacks Research lowered Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 target price on shares of Lazard and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Lazard by 59.5% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 590 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $54.54 on Friday. Lazard has a one year low of $31.97 and a one year high of $58.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 2.58.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $892.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $876.32 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 7.49%.The business’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Lazard’s payout ratio is presently 91.74%.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.