Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $52.72, but opened at $56.98. Lazard shares last traded at $54.73, with a volume of 162,015 shares.

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 net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Lazard’s payout ratio is presently 79.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on LAZ. Morgan Stanley downgraded Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lazard by 10,306.7% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,235,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $62,259,000 after buying an additional 1,223,918 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 5,770.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,064,431 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $53,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,298 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Lazard in the third quarter valued at $13,560,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 10.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $113,357,000 after purchasing an additional 206,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Lazard in the third quarter worth $8,430,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Trading Up 4.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $52.93 and its 200-day moving average is $50.77. The company has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.95 and a beta of 1.40.

Lazard Company Profile

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.