Zacks Research Upgrades Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) to “Hold”

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on LAZ. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Lazard from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Lazard from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on Lazard from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

Lazard Trading Down 3.5%

NYSE:LAZ opened at $41.76 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.43. Lazard has a one year low of $38.67 and a one year high of $58.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a current ratio of 3.51. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.37.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $672.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $707.42 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 29.30% and a net margin of 8.47%.Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter worth $80,169,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Lazard by 2,763.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,405,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $68,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356,800 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,047,869 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,305,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,424,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

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.