Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Hits New 12-Month High at $42.20

Shares of Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $42.20 and last traded at $42.12, with a volume of 298887 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LAZ shares. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Lazard from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Lazard from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

Lazard Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.16 and a beta of 1.46.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The asset manager reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.31. Lazard had a negative net margin of 2.93% and a positive return on equity of 16.43%. The business had revenue of $825.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $666.56 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Lazard, Inc. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.78%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently -206.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total transaction of $2,951,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 227,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,950,078.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in Lazard by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 800 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Lazard during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Lazard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Lazard by 489.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,727 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 64.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,839 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.