Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Short Interest Down 19.4% in July

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,190,000 shares, a decrease of 19.4% from the July 15th total of 3,960,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 980,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 3.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $47.99. The stock had a trading volume of 395,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,054,458. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -137.11 and a beta of 1.40. Lazard has a one year low of $25.82 and a one year high of $49.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.31.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. Lazard had a return on equity of 41.78% and a net margin of 5.50%. The business had revenue of $685.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $625.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.24 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Lazard will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -571.43%.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $9,362,610.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,729,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,235,326.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total value of $1,853,040.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,936,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,836,857.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $9,362,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at $78,235,326.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 414,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,683,738. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 58.9% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 2.0% in 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 48,534 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLC now owns 17,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd raised its position in Lazard by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd now owns 18,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Lazard from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 target price (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.33.

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.