Lazard (LAZ) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Thursday

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) is scheduled to release its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect Lazard to post earnings of $0.58 per share for the quarter. Persons that are interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The asset manager reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.31. Lazard had a positive return on equity of 16.43% and a negative net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $825.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $666.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Lazard to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $4 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Lazard Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of LAZ opened at $37.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51. Lazard has a 12-month low of $25.82 and a 12-month high of $42.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of -38.60 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.93.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -206.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Lazard from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total transaction of $2,951,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 227,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,950,078.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 88.7% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 800 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Lazard by 489.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,727 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lazard by 64.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,839 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lazard by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 2,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.