Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $50.3750.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $5,440,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 260,942 shares in the company, valued at $11,356,195.84. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth about $379,092,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Lazard by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,456,726 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $119,299,000 after purchasing an additional 221,214 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lazard by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,357,095 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $114,481,000 after purchasing an additional 6,429 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Lazard by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,900,615 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $80,713,000 after purchasing an additional 174,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Lazard by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,760,637 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $85,497,000 after buying an additional 38,133 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $35.74 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a current ratio of 2.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.43. Lazard has a 52 week low of $35.16 and a 52 week high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $786.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.29 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 6.95%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lazard will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Lazard’s payout ratio is 98.04%.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a global financial advisory and asset management firm. The company provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, capital structure, restructuring, strategic matters and other corporate finance activities. Lazard also offers asset management services for institutions, financial intermediaries, private clients and other investors.

Lazard traces its origins to 1848, when the Lazard brothers established a business in New Orleans. The firm later expanded to San Francisco and Paris, developing an international platform that serves clients across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other key global markets.

The company operates through financial advisory and asset management businesses, with teams serving corporations, governments, institutions and high-net-worth individuals.