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

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.00.

LAZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 price target on shares of Lazard and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Lazard in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Lazard during the third quarter valued at $42,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Lazard by 53.5% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $233,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Lazard in the third quarter worth about $6,292,000. Finally, Penn Capital Management Company LLC grew its position in Lazard by 18.6% in the third quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 274,807 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $14,541,000 after acquiring an additional 43,083 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $50.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 2.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10 and a beta of 1.38. Lazard has a 52-week low of $31.97 and a 52-week high of $58.07.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.17. Lazard had a return on equity of 35.02% and a net margin of 8.89%.The company had revenue of $770.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Lazard’s payout ratio is presently 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.