Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09, Zacks reports. Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%.

Lazard Stock Up 4.5 %

Lazard stock traded up $2.35 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $55.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 453,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 982,614. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.93 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.77. Lazard has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $61.14.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Lazard’s payout ratio is 79.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on LAZ. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.50.

About Lazard

Lazard, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial advisory and asset management firm in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. It operates in two segments, Financial Advisory and Asset Management. The Financial Advisory segment offers financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, shareholder, sovereign, geopolitical advisory, and other strategic advisory services, as well as restructuring and liability management, and capital raising and placement services.