Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Cut to “Peer Perform” at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their target price on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.00.

Lazard Stock Performance

Lazard stock opened at $49.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $61.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $54.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.23. The company has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71 and a beta of 1.40.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The company had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lazard will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Lazard by 1,125.0% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Lazard in the third quarter worth $50,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth $87,000. LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth $88,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at $211,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.