Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on LAZ. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet raised shares of Lazard from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Lazard from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $41.87 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.26. Lazard has a 52 week low of $25.82 and a 52 week high of $42.24. The stock has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of -43.16 and a beta of 1.46.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The asset manager reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.31. Lazard had a negative net margin of 2.93% and a positive return on equity of 16.43%. The firm had revenue of $825.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $666.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total value of $2,951,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 227,448 shares in the company, valued at $8,950,078.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Lazard by 2.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 25,240 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Lazard by 6.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,261 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,148,000 after purchasing an additional 2,144 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Lazard by 6.9% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,553 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in Lazard during the first quarter worth approximately $135,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Lazard by 64.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,839 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial advisory and asset management firm in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. It operates in two segments, Financial Advisory and Asset Management. The Financial Advisory segment offers financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, shareholder, sovereign, geopolitical advisory, and other strategic advisory services, as well as restructuring and liability management, and capital raising and placement services.