Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on LAZ. Wolfe Research raised 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an outperform rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Lazard from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, TheStreet raised Lazard from a d+ rating to a c+ rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $43.83.

Lazard Stock Performance

LAZ opened at $41.87 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.21. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of -43.16 and a beta of 1.46. 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 current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $825.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $666.56 million. Lazard had a positive return on equity of 16.43% and a negative net margin of 2.93%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. Research analysts expect that Lazard will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.78%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -206.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total value of $2,951,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 227,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,950,078.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 25,240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,261 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after purchasing an additional 2,144 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,553 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at about $135,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 64.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,839 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

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.