Lazard (LAZ) Competitors

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) and Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, community ranking, earnings, dividends, media sentiment, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Does the media favor SF or LAZ?

In the previous week, Lazard had 13 more articles in the media than Stifel Financial. MarketBeat recorded 23 mentions for Lazard and 10 mentions for Stifel Financial. Stifel Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.65 beat Lazard's score of -0.11 indicating that Stifel Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Stifel Financial	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Lazard	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts prefer SF or LAZ?

Stifel Financial currently has a consensus target price of $107.14, indicating a potential downside of 5.91%. Lazard has a consensus target price of $53.50, indicating a potential upside of 4.78%. Given Lazard's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Lazard is more favorable than Stifel Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stifel Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
Lazard	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Is SF or LAZ a better dividend stock?

Stifel Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Lazard pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Stifel Financial pays out 30.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lazard pays out 79.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, SF or LAZ?

Stifel Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Lazard. Lazard is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Stifel Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stifel Financial	$4.35B	2.68	$522.54M	$5.53	20.59
Lazard	$2.52B	2.29	-$75.48M	$2.51	20.34

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer SF or LAZ?

Lazard received 348 more outperform votes than Stifel Financial when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.18% of users gave Lazard an outperform vote while only 54.92% of users gave Stifel Financial an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Stifel Financial	Outperform Votes 279 54.92%	Underperform Votes 229 45.08%
Lazard	Outperform Votes 627 64.18%	Underperform Votes 350 35.82%

Which has more risk & volatility, SF or LAZ?

Stifel Financial has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lazard has a beta of 1.4, indicating that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in SF or LAZ?

82.0% of Stifel Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.8% of Lazard shares are held by institutional investors. 4.6% of Stifel Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of Lazard shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is SF or LAZ more profitable?

Stifel Financial has a net margin of 12.98% compared to Lazard's net margin of 8.28%. Lazard's return on equity of 42.20% beat Stifel Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stifel Financial	12.98%	14.92%	1.84%
Lazard	8.28%	42.20%	4.83%

Summary

Stifel Financial beats Lazard on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.