Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

LAZ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.00.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE LAZ opened at $54.52 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. As a group, research analysts expect that Lazard will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lazard by 209.0% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.