Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.17 EPS

Key Points

• Lazard reported earnings of $0.56 EPS, exceeding expectations by $0.17 EPS, despite a 4.7% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, with an annualized yield of 4.1%, set to be paid on November 14th.
• Recent insider transactions saw the CEO selling over 82,000 shares of the company's stock, reflecting a 15%-18% decrease in ownership stakes.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.17, Zacks reports. Lazard had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 34.33%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.38 EPS.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $48.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 2.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $53.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.15. Lazard has a one year low of $31.97 and a one year high of $61.14.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 32,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction of $1,756,572.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,274 shares in the company, valued at $9,913,290.66. This trade represents a 15.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total value of $2,847,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 227,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,979,759.25. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 108,092 shares of company stock valued at $6,030,986 in the last three months. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAZ. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Lazard by 30.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,943 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Lazard by 324.4% during the 2nd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 2,962 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new stake in Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $281,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Lazard by 62.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 7,102 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 2,730 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Lazard from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "moderate buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.43.

Lazard Company Profile

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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