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

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.5556.

LAZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research downgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Lazard from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on Lazard from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th.

Lazard Stock Down 4.4%

LAZ stock opened at $46.40 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $46.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a current ratio of 3.51. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $38.67 and a fifty-two week high of $58.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.41.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.10). Lazard had a return on equity of 29.30% and a net margin of 8.47%.The firm had revenue of $672.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $707.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is 79.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total value of $2,819,369.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,597,995.92. This represents a 24.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 7,885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.37, for a total value of $318,317.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $636,756.01. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962 over the last ninety days. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the 1st quarter valued at $89,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Lazard by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 448,446 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $19,050,000 after purchasing an additional 99,110 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Lazard in the 1st quarter valued at $3,392,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Lazard by 3.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,431,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $60,806,000 after purchasing an additional 48,607 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Lazard by 2,607.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 155,224 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,594,000 after purchasing an additional 149,490 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.