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

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.00.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LAZ shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Lazard from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Lazard in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Lazard in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Lazard by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Lazard in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Lazard in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Lazard by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE LAZ opened at $50.86 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $49.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.65. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $31.97 and a fifty-two week high of $58.07. The company has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 2.58.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.17. Lazard had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 35.02%. The company had revenue of $770.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Lazard’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Lazard will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.05%.

Lazard Company Profile

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.