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

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $50.3750.

LAZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Lazard from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Lazard from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 97.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 332,333 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $16,138,000 after purchasing an additional 164,168 shares during the period. Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter worth about $24,424,000. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter worth about $1,136,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,983,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Lazard by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,760,637 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $85,497,000 after purchasing an additional 38,133 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $42.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $43.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Lazard has a 12-month low of $38.67 and a 12-month high of $58.75. The firm has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.43.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.22). Lazard had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.58%. The business had revenue of $786.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $736.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Lazard will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.04%.

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.