JMP Securities Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Price

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at JMP Securities from $60.00 to $55.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market outperform” rating on the asset manager’s stock. JMP Securities’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 43.19% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on LAZ. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lazard has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.83.

Lazard Price Performance

Lazard stock opened at $38.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $47.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.84. Lazard has a one year low of $31.97 and a one year high of $61.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. As a group, research analysts expect that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.64, for a total value of $1,877,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 188,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,108,350.72. The trade was a 15.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.24, for a total transaction of $2,919,744.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 234,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,623,437.76. This trade represents a 21.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,078 shares of company stock worth $9,120,541 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Lazard by 1.9% during the first quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 215,059 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,312,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 5,409.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 25,287 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,095,000 after buying an additional 24,828 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Lazard by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,723 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 17,454 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $899,000 after acquiring an additional 5,170 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.