Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on LAZ. Capital One Financial set a $38.00 price target on Lazard in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 price objective on Lazard in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Lazard from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.50.

Lazard Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $38.28 on Friday. Lazard has a 12-month low of $34.13 and a 12-month high of $58.75. The stock has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $38.52 and a 200-day moving average of $44.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $804.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $844.23 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 5.55%. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lazard will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EFG International AG bought a new stake in Lazard during the second quarter worth $739,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 3.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 48,607 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,093,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 74.7% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 95,509 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,006,000 after purchasing an additional 40,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,122,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Lazard

Here are the key news stories impacting Lazard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lazard says Lazard CL is expected to generate about $500 million in revenue in 2027. Combining Campbell Lutyens with Lazard’s private-capital advisory operations expands the firm’s capabilities and supports its longer-term growth and diversification plans. Lazard acquisition announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street brokerages collectively rate LAZ “Hold,” suggesting analysts see a more balanced outlook rather than a strong near-term consensus catalyst. Brokerage rating coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Lazard also appointed Jessel Sheth as a managing director in Technology Advisory, a staffing development with no reported financial impact. Technology Advisory appointment

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.