Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Short Interest Update

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,130,000 shares, an increase of 24.7% from the May 15th total of 2,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 900,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $36.65 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.20. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $25.82 and a fifty-two week high of $42.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $765.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $678.57 million. Lazard had a positive return on equity of 37.27% and a negative net margin of 0.63%. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.26) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lazard will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Lazard’s payout ratio is presently -571.41%.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 154,131 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total value of $6,197,607.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,989,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,001,454.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 154,131 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total value of $6,197,607.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,989,591 shares in the company, valued at $80,001,454.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 6,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lazard by 943.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,963,865 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $82,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,775,664 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,650,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,063,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 265.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 791,158 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,740,000 after buying an additional 574,379 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 84.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,019,121 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,603,000 after buying an additional 466,301 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LAZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 target price (down from $51.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.67.

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.