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

Key Points

• Lazard has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” from 12 research firms, with an average 12-month price target of about $52.56.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $0.42 versus $0.52 expected and revenue of $672.98 million versus $707.42 million expected.
• Lazard recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 4.4%, while insiders have also been selling shares in recent months.

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $52.5556.

LAZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Lazard in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Lazard from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Zacks Research lowered Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Lazard from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $45.97 on Tuesday. Lazard has a 52-week low of $38.67 and a 52-week high of $58.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a current ratio of 3.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.85.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.10). Lazard had a return on equity of 29.30% and a net margin of 8.47%.The business had revenue of $672.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. Lazard's revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Lazard's payout ratio is 79.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total transaction of $2,819,369.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,597,995.92. The trade was a 24.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 3,944 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.37, for a total value of $155,275.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $465,707.73. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lazard by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,180,752 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $590,120,000 after acquiring an additional 245,205 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Lazard by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,807,320 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $427,685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047,869 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Lazard by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,456,726 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $119,299,000 after acquiring an additional 221,214 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lazard by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,357,095 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $114,481,000 after acquiring an additional 6,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Lazard by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,108,229 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $101,153,000 after acquiring an additional 180,244 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lazard

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.

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