Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Has Average Price Target of $46.50

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Lazard, with three sell, three hold, and four buy recommendations. The average 12-month price target is $46.50, above the stock’s reported $39.16 opening price.
• Lazard’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, with earnings per share of $0.36 versus the $0.42 estimate and revenue of $804.62 million versus $844.23 million expected, despite 8.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, implying a $2.00 annualized payout and a 5.1% yield; CEO Peter Orszag also sold 125,000 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.50.

LAZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Lazard from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 price objective on Lazard in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Lazard from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction 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 $11,356,195.84. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Lazard by 229.6% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 847 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 37.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Lazard Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $39.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.47. Lazard has a 52 week low of $34.13 and a 52 week high of $58.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $38.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.25.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $804.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $844.23 million. Lazard had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. Analysts predict that Lazard will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is presently 121.21%.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard, Ltd. is a global financial advisory and asset management firm that serves corporations, financial institutions, governments, sovereign entities and individuals. Its Financial Advisory business provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, strategic matters, capital structure, restructuring, capital raising and other complex financial transactions.

Through its Asset Management business, Lazard offers investment strategies across equities, fixed income, private markets, alternatives and multi-asset portfolios.

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