Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Short Interest Down 16.9% in March
Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) experienced a 16.9% decrease in short interest in March, totaling 5,450,000 shares. Analysts have mixed ratings, with Wells Fargo lowering its target price from $44 to $38, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised it from $52 to $57. Insiders sold significant shares recently, and institutional investors hold 54.80% of the stock. As of the latest trading, shares opened at $35.47, with a market cap of $4 billion and a P/E ratio of 13.33.
Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,450,000 shares, a drop of 16.9% from the March 15th total of 6,560,000 shares. Approximately 6.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,260,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days.
Analyst Ratings Changes
- Citi and Lazard just got bullish upgrades
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut Lazard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.83.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Lazard
Insiders Place Their Bets
- 3 Emerging Market Stocks To Cushion FED Hikes
In other news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total value of $2,940,396.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 170,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. The trade was a 27.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.64, for a total value of $1,877,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 188,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,108,350.72. This represents a 15.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541. 2.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Lazard by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company's stock.
Lazard Trading Up 1.7 %
Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $35.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24. Lazard has a 1 year low of $31.97 and a 1 year high of $61.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.62 and a 200 day moving average of $50.12.
Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Lazard Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.64%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is presently 75.19%.
Lazard Company Profile
(Get Free Report)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.
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