Lazard (LAZ) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) is scheduled to be announcing its earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.58 per share for the quarter. Investors interested in participating in the company's conference call can do so using this link.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The asset manager reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.31. Lazard had a negative net margin of 2.93% and a positive return on equity of 16.43%. The business had revenue of $825.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $666.56 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Lazard to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $4 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Lazard Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LAZ traded up $0.39 during trading on Thursday, reaching $37.83. The stock had a trading volume of 463,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,195,986. Lazard has a one year low of $25.82 and a one year high of $42.24. The company has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.15 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $39.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.98.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is currently -206.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Lazard from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total transaction of $2,951,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 227,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,950,078.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,191,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Lazard by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,750,853 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $121,565,000 after acquiring an additional 462,677 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC increased its holdings in Lazard by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 8,560,437 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $295,335,000 after acquiring an additional 439,866 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Multi Strategy Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Lazard by 319.2% in the 4th quarter. Weiss Multi Strategy Advisers LLC now owns 484,137 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $16,848,000 after acquiring an additional 368,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Lazard by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,847,754 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $63,748,000 after acquiring an additional 307,614 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.