Lazard, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 (NYSE:LAZ)

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share by the asset manager on Friday, February 20th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th.

Lazard has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. Lazard has a dividend payout ratio of 53.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Lazard to earn $5.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.5%.

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ traded up $0.81 during trading on Thursday, reaching $53.42. 950,092 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 999,162. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 2.58. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 1.38. Lazard has a 1 year low of $31.97 and a 1 year high of $58.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $50.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.00.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $892.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $876.32 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 35.02%. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lazard Company Profile

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.