Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Receives $55.75 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research 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 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.75.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LAZ. Wall Street Zen lowered Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Lazard from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Lazard from $59.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th.

Lazard Stock Performance

LAZ opened at $39.24 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.40. Lazard has a twelve month low of $31.97 and a twelve month high of $58.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $48.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.12. Lazard had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 33.04%. The company had revenue of $892.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $876.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Lazard’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.74%.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 7,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.37, for a total value of $318,317.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,773 shares in the company, valued at $636,756.01. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total transaction of $2,819,369.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 210,942 shares in the company, valued at $8,597,995.92. The trade was a 24.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 80,999 shares of company stock worth $3,292,962 over the last ninety days. 3.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Lazard by 2.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,180,752 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $590,120,000 after purchasing an additional 245,205 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,807,320 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $427,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047,869 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 5,753,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $276,077,000 after purchasing an additional 134,717 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Lazard by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,456,726 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $119,299,000 after purchasing an additional 221,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lazard by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,357,095 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $114,481,000 after purchasing an additional 6,429 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.