Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Receives "Outperform" Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated their outperform rating on shares of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $49.00 target price on the asset manager's stock, down from their prior target price of $51.00.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Lazard from a d+ rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded Lazard from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $42.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One research 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 presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $45.67.

Lazard Stock Up 0.2 %

Lazard stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.98. The stock had a trading volume of 798,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,178,625. Lazard has a 1-year low of $25.82 and a 1-year high of $42.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $39.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.19 and a beta of 1.46.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.08. Lazard had a negative net margin of 2.93% and a positive return on equity of 16.43%. The business had revenue of $765.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $678.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.26) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Lazard will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is -206.18%.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 227,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,950,078.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lazard by 1,165.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 176,491 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $6,142,000 after buying an additional 162,549 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lazard by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 140,285 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,882,000 after acquiring an additional 28,250 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Lazard by 84.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,019,121 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $31,603,000 after purchasing an additional 466,301 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 55.1% in the 3rd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 47,659 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 16,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Lazard by 22.5% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 245,137 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,602,000 after buying an additional 44,976 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.