Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated their outperform rating on shares of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a $56.00 price target on the asset manager’s stock, up from their previous price target of $49.00.

LAZ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com lowered Lazard from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lazard from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One 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, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $48.33.

Lazard Price Performance

Lazard stock opened at $47.70 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $40.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.65. Lazard has a one year low of $25.82 and a one year high of $49.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of -136.28 and a beta of 1.40.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. Lazard had a return on equity of 43.27% and a net margin of 5.50%. The firm had revenue of $685.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Lazard will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently -571.41%.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $9,362,610.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $9,362,610.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 6,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $270,480.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,982,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,313,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 414,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,683,738 in the last 90 days. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 162,549 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Lazard by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 140,285 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,882,000 after purchasing an additional 28,250 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Lazard by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 110,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,002,000 after purchasing an additional 35,103 shares during the last quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. raised its position in Lazard by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 149,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,196,000 after purchasing an additional 40,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the 1st quarter worth $1,126,000. 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.