Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 20.7% in April to 4,211,398 shares (about 3.8% of the float), leaving a short-interest ratio of roughly 2.9 days based on average volume.
• Insider selling accelerated recently: insiders sold 80,999 shares worth $3.29M in the last three months, including CEO Peter Orszag’s sale of 69,170 shares (a 24.7% reduction in his stake); insiders now own about 0.95% of the stock.
• Lazard beat Q4 estimates (EPS $0.80 vs. $0.68) with revenue up 11% year-over-year, but analysts maintain a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $52.50.

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,211,398 shares, an increase of 20.7% from the March 31st total of 3,488,663 shares. Approximately 3.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,430,019 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Insider Activity

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total value of $2,819,369.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,597,995.92. This represents a 24.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 7,885 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.37, for a total transaction of $318,317.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,773 shares in the company, valued at $636,756.01. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962 in the last three months. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 131.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,563 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 7,144 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lazard by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 759,867 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $32,902,000 after acquiring an additional 163,983 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $10,318,000 after acquiring an additional 18,444 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Lazard by 167.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 26,097 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 16,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Lazard by 62.4% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 7,102 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $47.53 on Thursday. Lazard has a 1-year low of $37.37 and a 1-year high of $58.75. The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.31 and a 200-day moving average of $48.97.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.12. Lazard had a return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 7.49%.The firm had revenue of $892.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $876.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. Lazard's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lazard will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LAZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Lazard from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $47.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.50.

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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