Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.50

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share by the asset manager on Friday, May 22nd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th.

Lazard has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. Lazard has a dividend payout ratio of 53.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Lazard to earn $4.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.5%.

Lazard Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of LAZ opened at $48.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $45.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.97. Lazard has a twelve month low of $38.52 and a twelve month high of $58.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.42.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. Lazard had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 33.04%. The company had revenue of $892.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $876.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Lazard will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Lazard

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.