Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citizens Jmp cut their target price on shares of Lazard from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Lazard from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Lazard from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.56.

Lazard Trading Up 3.5%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.31 and its 200-day moving average is $48.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 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 released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.10). Lazard had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 29.30%. The company had revenue of $672.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $707.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lazard news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 69,170 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 210,942 shares in the company, valued at $8,597,995.92. The trade was a 24.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Hogbin sold 3,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.37, for a total transaction of $155,275.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,707.73. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 80,999 shares of company stock valued at $3,292,962. 0.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard during the first quarter worth approximately $89,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Lazard by 28.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 448,446 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $19,050,000 after buying an additional 99,110 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Lazard during the first quarter worth approximately $3,392,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Lazard by 3.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,431,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $60,806,000 after buying an additional 48,607 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Lazard by 2,607.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 155,224 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,594,000 after buying an additional 149,490 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is currently 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.