Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Receives $45.67 Average PT from Analysts

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.67.

LAZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 price target (down previously from $51.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, April 11th.

Lazard Stock Down 2.2 %

LAZ opened at $36.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.14. Lazard has a 52 week low of $25.82 and a 52 week high of $42.24. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of -104.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.08. Lazard had a negative net margin of 0.63% and a positive return on equity of 37.27%. The firm had revenue of $765.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $678.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.26) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Lazard will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently -571.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 6,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $270,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,982,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,313,160. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 6,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $270,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,982,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,313,160. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 154,131 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total transaction of $6,197,607.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,989,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,001,454.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lazard by 1,165.9% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 176,491 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,142,000 after acquiring an additional 162,549 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Lazard by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 140,285 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,882,000 after acquiring an additional 28,250 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Lazard by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 110,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,002,000 after acquiring an additional 35,103 shares during the period. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of Lazard by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 149,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,196,000 after acquiring an additional 40,036 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Lazard by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 67,594 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,353,000 after acquiring an additional 21,615 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.