Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Downgraded by Wolfe Research to Peer Perform

Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on LAZ. Morgan Stanley downgraded Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Lazard in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $65.00 to $57.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Lazard Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of LAZ opened at $49.47 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71 and a beta of 1.40. Lazard has a one year low of $35.56 and a one year high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. The firm had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Lazard by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,948,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,149,000 after buying an additional 55,469 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the second quarter valued at $1,779,000. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $934,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Lazard by 348.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 17,604 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $887,000 after acquiring an additional 13,682 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lazard

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.