Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 target price on Lazard in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Lazard from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.50.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $37.23 on Friday. Lazard has a 1-year low of $34.13 and a 1-year high of $58.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.94.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $805.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $844.23 million. Lazard had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lazard will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter Orszag sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $5,440,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,356,195.84. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EFG International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth about $739,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,431,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $60,806,000 after buying an additional 48,607 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,093,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 74.7% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 95,509 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,006,000 after buying an additional 40,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,122,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

More Lazard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lazard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lazard plans to complete the closure of Campbell Lutyens in early November and expects the combined business to generate approximately $500 million of revenue in 2027. The transaction could strengthen Lazard’s private-capital and fundraising capabilities, although execution and integration remain important. Campbell Lutyens transaction
• Positive Sentiment: Lazard declared its regular quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, equivalent to $2.00 annually and a yield of roughly 5.3% based on the cited share price. The dividend is payable November 13 to shareholders of record November 2. Lazard quarterly results and dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said forward indicators were “really positive,” offering some support for a recovery in deal activity and future revenue. However, investors appear focused on whether that pipeline can translate into stronger near-term profitability. Lazard CEO comments
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports on changes to two key leadership roles add a governance and execution consideration for investors, though the immediate financial impact is unclear. Leadership changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Lazard Global Total Return and Income Fund (NYSE: LGI), a separate closed-end fund, announced a $0.15340 monthly distribution payable November 24. This does not directly represent a dividend change for Lazard, Inc. (LAZ). LGI monthly distribution
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS was $0.36, below the $0.42 consensus estimate, while adjusted revenue of $805 million missed expectations of approximately $844 million. EPS also fell from $0.56 a year earlier, deepening concerns about margin pressure and limited deal pull-forwards. Third-quarter earnings release
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target from $41 to $40 and maintained an “underweight” rating, signaling limited confidence in Lazard’s near-term earnings outlook despite the target remaining above the cited share price.

About Lazard

Lazard, Ltd. is a global financial advisory and asset management firm that serves corporations, financial institutions, governments, sovereign entities and individuals. Its Financial Advisory business provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, strategic matters, capital structure, restructuring, capital raising and other complex financial transactions.

Through its Asset Management business, Lazard offers investment strategies across equities, fixed income, private markets, alternatives and multi-asset portfolios.