Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Lazard, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from nine analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $55.00.
• CEO Evan L. Russo sold 50,000 shares of Lazard stock, representing a 17.99% decrease in his ownership of the company.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.52 per share, exceeding analyst estimates and showing a 16.2% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.00.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JMP Securities set a $60.00 target price on Lazard and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Lazard from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lazard from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total transaction of $2,847,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 227,915 shares in the company, valued at $12,979,759.25. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 32,475 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total value of $1,756,572.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 183,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,913,290.66. This trade represents a 15.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 108,092 shares of company stock worth $6,030,986. Corporate insiders own 2.26% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Lazard in the first quarter worth about $28,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Lazard in the second quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Lazard by 57.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in Lazard in the second quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in Lazard in the first quarter worth about $50,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $53.98 on Monday. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $31.97 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14. The firm has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 1.35. The business's fifty day moving average is $54.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.14. Lazard had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.96%.The company had revenue of $796.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $674.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.97%.

About Lazard

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.

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