Analysts Set Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Price Target at $46.00

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.00.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 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. UBS Group increased their price target on Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TheStreet upgraded Lazard from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, January 29th.

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ stock opened at $39.32 on Monday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $39.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.30. The firm has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.54 and a beta of 1.46.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The asset manager reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.31. Lazard had a positive return on equity of 16.43% and a negative net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $825.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $666.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lazard will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. Lazard’s payout ratio is -206.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total value of $2,951,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 227,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,950,078.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Empire Life Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 19,252 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Lazard by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 48,534 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,689,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Lazard by 2.9% in the first quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLC now owns 17,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $733,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Lazard in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Lazard by 3.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 16,335 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.