Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $35.16 and last traded at $36.3110, with a volume of 8183008 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on LAZ. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 price target on Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.38.

Lazard Trading Down 0.3%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $42.78 and its 200-day moving average is $43.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a current ratio of 2.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.43.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.22). Lazard had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.58%. The company had revenue of $786.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $5,440,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,356,195.84. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $379,092,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lazard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,169,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,275,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,122,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,756,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a global financial advisory and asset management firm. The company provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, capital structure, restructuring, strategic matters and other corporate finance activities. Lazard also offers asset management services for institutions, financial intermediaries, private clients and other investors.

Lazard traces its origins to 1848, when the Lazard brothers established a business in New Orleans. The firm later expanded to San Francisco and Paris, developing an international platform that serves clients across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other key global markets.

The company operates through financial advisory and asset management businesses, with teams serving corporations, governments, institutions and high-net-worth individuals.