Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03), Briefing.com reports. Lazard had a return on equity of 46.55% and a net margin of 8.28%. The firm had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Lazard Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $53.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. Lazard has a 12-month low of $25.82 and a 12-month high of $54.72. The company has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.37.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,338,134.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,640,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,082,569.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,679,058. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,338,134.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,640,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,082,569.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 176,497 shares of company stock worth $8,658,086. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LAZ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

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.