Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,890,000 shares, a decrease of 15.0% from the September 15th total of 3,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 752,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of Lazard stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.29. 768,442 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 954,142. The company has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -154.97 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.26. Lazard has a 12 month low of $25.82 and a 12 month high of $54.57.

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

Lazard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,338,134.56. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,640,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,082,569.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,640,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,082,569.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,679,058. This trade 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 valued at $8,658,086 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $421,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 108.6% in the third quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 43,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,202,000 after acquiring an additional 22,755 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 32.7% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 3rd quarter worth about $299,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.