Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Sets New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Lazard shares fell to a new 52-week low of $34.77, below the previous close of $36.36; the stock’s 50-day and 200-day moving averages were $41.11 and $43.33, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment was mixed but leaned toward “Hold”, with an average price target of $47.12. Goldman Sachs lowered its target to $36 and maintained a “Sell” rating, while four analysts rated the stock a Buy, four a Hold and two a Sell.
• Lazard reported quarterly EPS of $0.12, missing the $0.34 consensus estimate, despite revenue of $786.47 million exceeding expectations. The company paid a $0.50 quarterly dividend, representing a 5.7% yield, while CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $34.77 and last traded at $35.1090, with a volume of 118677 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $36.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LAZ. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Lazard from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Lazard from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $38.00 price target on Lazard in a report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.12.

Lazard Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 2.84. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $41.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.33.

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

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Lazard's payout ratio is 98.04%.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $5,440,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 260,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,356,195.84. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.95% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in shares of Lazard by 74.7% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 95,509 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,006,000 after buying an additional 40,846 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Lazard by 59.2% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 554,285 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $23,247,000 after buying an additional 206,051 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,216 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at $87,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard Ltd. NYSE: LAZ is a global financial advisory and asset management firm. The company provides advice to corporations, financial institutions, governments and other public-sector entities on strategic matters, including mergers and acquisitions, capital structure, restructuring, shareholder relations and other corporate finance transactions.

Through its asset management business, Lazard manages investment strategies for institutions, financial intermediaries and private clients across equities, fixed income, alternatives and other asset classes.

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