UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Price

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $48.00 to $45.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the asset manager’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 0.25% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Lazard from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.75.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAZ traded up $3.70 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,044,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,305,767. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 2.28. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.42. Lazard has a 12-month low of $32.04 and a 12-month high of $58.75.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $892.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $876.32 million. Lazard had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 33.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 3,944 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.37, for a total value of $155,275.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,829 shares in the company, valued at $465,707.73. The trade was a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total value of $2,819,369.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 210,942 shares in the company, valued at $8,597,995.92. This represents a 24.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 80,999 shares of company stock worth $3,292,962 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 59.5% in the 4th 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. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 53.5% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.