Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $39.30, but opened at $40.37. Lazard shares last traded at $38.23, with a volume of 315,940 shares traded.

The asset manager reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.08. Lazard had a positive return on equity of 37.47% and a negative net margin of 0.63%. The firm had revenue of $765.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $678.57 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.26) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -571.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on LAZ. UBS Group raised their target price on Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TheStreet upgraded Lazard from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 target price (down from $51.00) on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Lazard from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total value of $2,951,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 227,448 shares in the company, valued at $8,950,078.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Lazard in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Lazard in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new position in Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.35.

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.