Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $57.1250.

LAZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, December 29th. 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 report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 target price on Lazard and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, January 30th.

Lazard Stock Performance

LAZ opened at $56.75 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $51.66 and a 200-day moving average of $52.05. Lazard has a 12-month low of $31.97 and a 12-month high of $58.07. The stock has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.38.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. Lazard had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 7.49%.The company had revenue of $892.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $876.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lazard will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Lazard by 1,140.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,740 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,358 shares during the period. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at about $236,000. Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,424,000. Leuthold Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 888.0% in the fourth quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 55,271 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,684,000 after purchasing an additional 49,677 shares during the period. Finally, Lawood & Co. bought a new position in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth about $586,000. 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.