Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Downgraded by Wolfe Research to Peer Perform

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) was downgraded by analysts at Wolfe Research from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $57.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

Lazard Stock Performance

NYSE LAZ opened at $49.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71 and a beta of 1.40. Lazard has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $61.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $644.22 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. Lazard’s revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Lazard will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Lazard by 1,125.0% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at $87,000. LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 2nd quarter valued at $88,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Lazard during the second quarter worth $211,000. 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.