Comparing Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) & Orix Corp Ads (NYSE:IX)

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) and Orix Corp Ads (NYSE:IX) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Lazard and Orix Corp Ads’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lazard	7.49%	33.04%	5.82%
Orix Corp Ads	15.04%	10.69%	2.70%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Lazard and Orix Corp Ads, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lazard	3	5	3	0	2.00
Orix Corp Ads	0	0	1	0	3.00

Lazard presently has a consensus price target of $52.50, suggesting a potential upside of 15.97%. Given Lazard’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Lazard is more favorable than Orix Corp Ads.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

54.8% of Lazard shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.7% of Orix Corp Ads shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Lazard shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Orix Corp Ads shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Lazard has a beta of 1.44, suggesting that its stock price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Orix Corp Ads has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lazard and Orix Corp Ads”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lazard	$3.10 billion	1.63	$236.83 million	$2.18	20.77
Orix Corp Ads	$18.88 billion	1.94	$2.32 billion	$2.79	11.84

Orix Corp Ads has higher revenue and earnings than Lazard. Orix Corp Ads is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lazard, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Lazard pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Orix Corp Ads pays an annual dividend of $0.91 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Lazard pays out 91.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Orix Corp Ads pays out 32.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Lazard beats Orix Corp Ads on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. This segment offers its services to corporate, partnership, institutional, government, sovereign, and individual clients to various industry areas, including consumers, financial institutions, healthcare and life sciences, industrials, power and energy/infrastructure, real estate, technology, telecommunication, and media and entertainment. The Asset Management segment offers a range of investment solutions; investment and wealth management services in equity and fixed income strategies; asset allocation strategies; and alternative investments and private equity funds to corporations, public funds, sovereign entities, endowments and foundations, labor funds, financial intermediaries, and private clients. Lazard, Inc. was incorporated in 1848 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Orix Corp Ads

ORIX Corporation provides diversified financial services in Japan, the United States, Asia, Europe, Australasia, and the Middle East. The company's Corporate Financial Services and Maintenance Leasing segment is involved in the finance and fee; leasing and rental of automobiles, electronic measuring instruments, and ICT-related equipment businesses; and provision of life insurance and environment and energy-related products and services. Its Real Estate segment develops, rents, and manages real estate properties; operates facilities; real estate asset management; manages residential condominiums and office building; and provides construction contracting, real estate brokerage, and real estate investment advisory services, as well as operates hotels and Japanese inns. The company's PE Investment and Concession segment engages in the private equity (PE) investment and concession businesses. Its Environment and Energy segment provides renewable energy; ESCO; retails electric power; sells solar panels and battery electricity storage systems; and recycling and waste management services, as well as generates solar power. The company's Insurance segment sells life insurance products through agents, banks, and other financial institutions, as well as face-to-face and online. Its Banking and Credit segment provides banking and consumer finance services. The company's Aircraft and Ships segment engages in the aircraft leasing and management, and ship-related finance and investment businesses. Its ORIX USA segment offers finance, investment, and asset management services. The company's ORIX Europe segment provides equity and fixed income asset management services. Its Asia and Australia segment offers finance and investment businesses. The company was formerly known as Orient Leasing Co., Ltd. and changed its name to ORIX Corporation in 1989. ORIX Corporation was incorporated in 1950 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.