Wolfe Research Downgrades Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) 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 report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities increased their price target on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $60.00 to $63.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

Lazard Stock Down 2.5 %

LAZ stock opened at $49.47 on Friday. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $54.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.15.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.03). The business 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth about $87,000. LWM Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Lazard in the second quarter valued at about $88,000. Finally, My Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at about $215,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently 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.