Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The asset manager reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.03), Briefing.com reports. Lazard had a return on equity of 46.55% and a net margin of 8.28%. The company had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Lazard Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Lazard stock traded up $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $53.31. 1,001,071 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 671,299. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 1.37. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $50.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.32. Lazard has a 1-year low of $25.82 and a 1-year high of $54.72.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.68%.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,338,134.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,640,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,082,569.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,338,134.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,640,995 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,082,569.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares of the company's stock, valued at $74,679,058. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,497 shares of company stock worth $8,658,086 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on LAZ shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.00.

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.