Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Price Target Raised to $57.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its price objective lifted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $46.00 to $57.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

LAZ has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Lazard from $33.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Lazard Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $53.24 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.06. Lazard has a 52-week low of $31.97 and a 52-week high of $61.14. The firm has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.27. Lazard had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 37.64%. The business had revenue of $669.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $698.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Lazard during the first quarter worth about $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Lazard by 57.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lazard by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 85.8% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. 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.