Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Gets Downgrade from Zacks Research

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Lazard from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Lazard from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.50.

Lazard Stock Performance

LAZ stock opened at $38.45 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $38.93 and its 200-day moving average is $44.44. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.47. Lazard has a twelve month low of $34.13 and a twelve month high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.06). Lazard had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 5.55%. The company had revenue of $804.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $844.23 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Lazard will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $5,440,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,356,195.84. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAZ. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 2.7% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,111 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 2.5% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 13,129 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 1.0% during the first quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,266 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,965,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 25.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Lazard by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard, Ltd. is a global financial advisory and asset management firm that serves corporations, financial institutions, governments, sovereign entities and individuals. Its Financial Advisory business provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, strategic matters, capital structure, restructuring, capital raising and other complex financial transactions.

Through its Asset Management business, Lazard offers investment strategies across equities, fixed income, private markets, alternatives and multi-asset portfolios.