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

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.1250.

LAZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 131.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,563 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $544,000 after acquiring an additional 7,144 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 759,867 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,902,000 after purchasing an additional 163,983 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 238,288 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,318,000 after purchasing an additional 18,444 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Lazard by 291.6% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,065 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 3,027 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in Lazard by 11.1% in the second quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 43,649 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 4,362 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $48.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 2.28. Lazard has a 52-week low of $31.97 and a 52-week high of $58.75. The company has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.99 and its 200 day moving average is $51.90.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $892.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $876.32 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 7.49%.The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is 91.74%.

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.