Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Price Target to $59.00

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its price objective trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $60.00 to $59.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lazard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group started coverage on Lazard in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 price target on Lazard and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.86.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ opened at $51.51 on Thursday. Lazard has a 1 year low of $31.97 and a 1 year high of $58.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 2.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $50.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.72. The firm has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36 and a beta of 1.38.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.17. Lazard had a return on equity of 35.02% and a net margin of 8.89%.The company had revenue of $770.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amica Retiree Medical Trust lifted its stake in Lazard by 44.4% in the second quarter. Amica Retiree Medical Trust now owns 10,922 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 3,356 shares during the last quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 48.2% in the second quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 120,707 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,791,000 after buying an additional 39,263 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 178.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 103,778 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,494,000 after buying an additional 66,525 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 182,132 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $307,000. 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.