Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.29.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Lazard from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LAZ. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 10.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $113,357,000 after purchasing an additional 206,295 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,322,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Lazard by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 69,760 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,515,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Lazard by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,813,553 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $91,392,000 after buying an additional 15,151 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the third quarter worth $296,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $51.96. 427,671 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 930,706. Lazard has a twelve month low of $34.25 and a twelve month high of $61.14. The stock has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $54.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. The company had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Lazard will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. Lazard's payout ratio is currently 79.68%.

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.