Brokerages Set Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Price Target at $53.00

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.43.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Lazard Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of LAZ opened at $54.66 on Tuesday. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $31.77 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24. The company’s fifty day moving average is $54.03 and its 200 day moving average is $47.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78 and a beta of 1.38.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.22 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Lazard will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the second quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Lazard during the second quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

About Lazard

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.