Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09, Zacks reports. Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%.

Lazard Stock Up 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE:LAZ traded up $2.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $55.28. 799,518 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,001,986. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24. Lazard has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $61.14.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. JMP Securities upped their price target on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Lazard from $59.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley cut Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $60.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.50.

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.