Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Short Interest Update

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,560,000 shares, an increase of 14.5% from the January 15th total of 5,730,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 923,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.1 days. Currently, 7.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.64, for a total value of $1,877,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 188,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,108,350.72. This trade represents a 15.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at approximately $421,000. Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lazard by 10,306.7% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,235,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $62,259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223,918 shares during the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth $439,000. My Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter worth $215,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lazard by 348.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 17,604 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $887,000 after purchasing an additional 13,682 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.33.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ traded up $1.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $55.23. 730,312 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,025,253. 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 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $61.14. The company has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.46.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s payout ratio is 75.19%.

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.