Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Lazard shares hit a new 52-week low, trading as low as $35.16 amid a decline below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $50.38; recent downgrades included Zacks Research moving the stock to “Strong Sell.”
• Lazard’s latest quarterly earnings missed expectations, with EPS of $0.12 versus $0.34 forecast, although revenue exceeded estimates and rose 1.5% year over year. The company also maintains a $2.00 annual dividend, yielding about 5.6%.

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $35.16 and last traded at $36.3110, with a volume of 8183008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Lazard from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research cut Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.38.

Lazard Stock Down 0.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.43. The business's 50-day moving average price is $42.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.93.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.22). Lazard had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.58%. The company had revenue of $786.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.29 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $5,440,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares in the company, valued at $11,356,195.84. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.95% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in Lazard by 74.7% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 95,509 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,006,000 after purchasing an additional 40,846 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Lazard by 59.2% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 554,285 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $23,247,000 after buying an additional 206,051 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lazard by 28.5% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,994 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new position in Lazard during the second quarter valued at about $87,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company's stock.

About Lazard

Lazard Ltd. NYSE: LAZ is a global financial advisory and asset management firm. The company provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, capital structure, restructuring, strategic matters and other corporate finance activities. Lazard also offers asset management services for institutions, financial intermediaries, private clients and other investors.

Lazard traces its origins to 1848, when the Lazard brothers established a business in New Orleans. The firm later expanded to San Francisco and Paris, developing an international platform that serves clients across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other key global markets.

The company operates through financial advisory and asset management businesses, with teams serving corporations, governments, institutions and high-net-worth individuals.

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