Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Rating Lowered by Morgan Stanley

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $63.00 target price on the asset manager's stock, up from their previous target price of $60.00. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.26% from the stock's current price.

LAZ has been the topic of several other reports. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lazard presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.43.

Lazard Trading Down 3.6 %

Lazard stock traded down $2.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $54.66. 772,772 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 929,964. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $31.77 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $53.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.48.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 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%. The company's revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAZ. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Lazard by 1,125.0% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth $87,000. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company's stock.

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.