Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Receives $44.33 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.33.

LAZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Lazard from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lazard from $33.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ traded up $1.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $46.73. 953,925 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 973,330. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a current ratio of 3.24. Lazard has a 1-year low of $31.97 and a 1-year high of $61.14. The stock has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.08 and a 200-day moving average of $46.37.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $669.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.39 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 37.64% and a net margin of 10.15%. The firm's revenue was down 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.69%.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in Lazard by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,217,486 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $52,717,000 after purchasing an additional 23,346 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the first quarter worth about $3,381,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lazard by 72.7% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,007 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Lazard by 178.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 103,778 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,494,000 after acquiring an additional 66,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Lazard by 8.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 238,288 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,318,000 after purchasing an additional 18,444 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.

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.