Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $38.65 and last traded at $39.4270, with a volume of 790709 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 target price on Lazard in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.38.

Lazard Stock Down 3.0%

The firm has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 2.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.09 and a 200-day moving average of $44.26.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $786.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $736.29 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 6.95%.Lazard’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $5,440,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 260,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,356,195.84. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 74.7% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 95,509 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,006,000 after acquiring an additional 40,846 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in Lazard by 59.2% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 554,285 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $23,247,000 after acquiring an additional 206,051 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Lazard by 28.5% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,994 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 2,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new position in Lazard during the second quarter valued at approximately $87,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a global financial advisory and asset management firm. The company provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, capital structure, restructuring, strategic matters and other corporate finance activities. Lazard also offers asset management services for institutions, financial intermediaries, private clients and other investors.

Lazard traces its origins to 1848, when the Lazard brothers established a business in New Orleans. The firm later expanded to San Francisco and Paris, developing an international platform that serves clients across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other key global markets.

The company operates through financial advisory and asset management businesses, with teams serving corporations, governments, institutions and high-net-worth individuals.