Lazard, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 (NYSE:LAZ)

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share by the asset manager on Friday, February 20th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th.

Lazard has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. Lazard has a dividend payout ratio of 53.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Lazard to earn $5.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.5%.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of Lazard stock traded up $1.51 on Thursday, hitting $54.12. 1,192,141 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,012,058. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47 and a beta of 1.38. Lazard has a 1-year low of $31.97 and a 1-year high of $58.07.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. Lazard had a return on equity of 35.02% and a net margin of 8.89%.The company had revenue of $892.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $876.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.