Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $46.36, but opened at $49.54. Lazard shares last traded at $48.0410, with a volume of 310,534 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAZ has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.56.

Lazard Stock Up 3.1%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.54. The company has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 3.51, a current ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.10). Lazard had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 29.30%. The firm had revenue of $672.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $707.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total transaction of $2,819,369.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 210,942 shares in the company, valued at $8,597,995.92. This trade represents a 24.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 7,885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.37, for a total transaction of $318,317.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,773 shares in the company, valued at $636,756.01. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 80,999 shares of company stock worth $3,292,962 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Teza Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 2.4% during the second quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 8,059 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 59.5% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 590 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 53.5% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Xponance LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 6,454 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 47,628 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,313,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

About Lazard

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.