Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $54.65 and last traded at $54.63, with a volume of 2777 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target (up from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on Lazard from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.14.

Lazard Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -155.83 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.84 and a 200-day moving average of $43.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $625.40 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 41.78% and a net margin of 5.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lazard, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently -571.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,338,134.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,640,995 shares in the company, valued at $82,082,569.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total value of $99,969.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,727,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,403,427.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total value of $4,338,134.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,640,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,082,569.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 176,497 shares of company stock worth $8,658,086 in the last three months. 3.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 118.8% during the third quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 175,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,817,000 after purchasing an additional 95,000 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at $421,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 108.6% during the third quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 43,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,202,000 after purchasing an additional 22,755 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 32.7% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 26,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 6,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at $299,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

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.