Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from Analysts

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.33.

LAZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Lazard from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $56.00 to $33.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th.

Lazard Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE LAZ opened at $43.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 1.32. The stock's 50 day moving average is $41.88 and its 200 day moving average is $46.58. Lazard has a twelve month low of $31.97 and a twelve month high of $61.14. The company has a quick ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60.

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

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.69%.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 2.0% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,217,486 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $52,717,000 after purchasing an additional 23,346 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Lazard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,381,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Lazard by 72.7% during the 1st 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 178.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 103,778 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,494,000 after buying an additional 66,525 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 8.4% during the 1st 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 buying 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.

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