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

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.3750.

LAZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th.

Lazard Trading Down 0.9%

LAZ opened at $35.74 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.43. Lazard has a 12 month low of $35.16 and a 12 month high of $58.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

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

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $5,440,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,356,195.84. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth about $379,092,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,169,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,275,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Lazard during the second quarter worth about $42,122,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,756,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Lazard

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.