Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

LAZ has been the subject of a number of other reports. Capital One Financial set a $38.00 target price on Lazard in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 price target on Lazard in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised shares of Lazard from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.50.

Lazard Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:LAZ opened at $37.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.84. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $34.13 and a fifty-two week high of $58.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.93. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.47.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.36 earnings per share (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 $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $844.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lazard will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares in the company, valued at $11,356,195.84. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LAZ. EFG International AG bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the second quarter valued at $739,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,431,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $60,806,000 after purchasing an additional 48,607 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Lazard in the second quarter worth approximately $1,093,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in Lazard by 74.7% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 95,509 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,006,000 after purchasing an additional 40,846 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Lazard during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,122,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Lazard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lazard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lazard plans to complete the closure of Campbell Lutyens in early November and expects the combined business to generate approximately $500 million of revenue in 2027. The transaction could strengthen Lazard’s private-capital and fundraising capabilities, although execution and integration remain important. Campbell Lutyens transaction
• Positive Sentiment: Lazard declared its regular quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, equivalent to $2.00 annually and a yield of roughly 5.3% based on the cited share price. The dividend is payable November 13 to shareholders of record November 2. Lazard quarterly results and dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said forward indicators were “really positive,” offering some support for a recovery in deal activity and future revenue. However, investors appear focused on whether that pipeline can translate into stronger near-term profitability. Lazard CEO comments
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports on changes to two key leadership roles add a governance and execution consideration for investors, though the immediate financial impact is unclear. Leadership changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Lazard Global Total Return and Income Fund (NYSE: LGI), a separate closed-end fund, announced a $0.15340 monthly distribution payable November 24. This does not directly represent a dividend change for Lazard, Inc. (LAZ). LGI monthly distribution
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS was $0.36, below the $0.42 consensus estimate, while adjusted revenue of $805 million missed expectations of approximately $844 million. EPS also fell from $0.56 a year earlier, deepening concerns about margin pressure and limited deal pull-forwards. Third-quarter earnings release
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target from $41 to $40 and maintained an “underweight” rating, signaling limited confidence in Lazard’s near-term earnings outlook despite the target remaining above the cited share price.

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.