Investors Buy Shares of Lazard (LAZ) on Weakness

Traders purchased shares of Lazard Ltd (NYSE:LAZ) on weakness during trading on Thursday. $36.93 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $5.99 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $30.94 million into the stock. Of all stocks tracked, Lazard had the 29th highest net in-flow for the day. Lazard traded down ($0.50) for the day and closed at $36.05

Several analysts have issued reports on LAZ shares. Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “mkt perform” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, January 4th. ValuEngine downgraded Lazard from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 5th. Zacks Investment Research raised Lazard from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 31st. Finally, TheStreet raised Lazard from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.83.

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The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 8.67, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.60.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94. The business had revenue of $685.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.35 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 50.62% and a net margin of 18.27%. Lazard’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Lazard Ltd will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 15th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 14th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.31%.

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Mercantile Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Lazard by 103.8% in the fourth quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. now owns 1,060 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lazard by 61.8% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,707 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the third quarter valued at about $111,000. Chiron Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lazard by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC now owns 4,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, People s United Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the third quarter valued at about $214,000. 67.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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About Lazard (NYSE:LAZ)

Lazard Ltd, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial advisory and asset management firm worldwide. Its Financial Advisory segment offers various financial advisory services regarding mergers and acquisitions and other strategic matters, restructurings, capital structure, capital raising, shareholder advisory, and various other financial matters.

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