Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $53.00.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LAZ shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company.

Lazard Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $58.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42 and a beta of 1.38. Lazard has a 52-week low of $25.82 and a 52-week high of $61.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $50.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.84.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.22 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Lazard will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.68%.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at $74,679,058. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total value of $4,338,134.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,640,995 shares in the company, valued at $82,082,569.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at $74,679,058. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 176,497 shares of company stock worth $8,658,086 in the last quarter. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the 1st quarter worth about $1,504,000. Interval Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,626,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the 1st quarter worth about $1,126,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the 1st quarter worth about $6,733,000. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the 1st quarter worth about $671,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.