Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Receives $55.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $54.8571.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LAZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Lazard from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lazard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 price target on shares of Lazard and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th.

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ stock opened at $51.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 2.58. Lazard has a 1 year low of $31.97 and a 1 year high of $58.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.10 and a 200 day moving average of $51.76. The company has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36 and a beta of 1.38.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $770.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 67.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,814,000 after acquiring an additional 15,011 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its position in Lazard by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 47,628 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,313,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Lazard by 53.5% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the third quarter worth approximately $233,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by 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.