Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Lazard (NYSE:LAZGet Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09, Zacks reports. Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ opened at $55.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The stock has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.77. Lazard has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $61.14.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Lazard from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.50.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Lazard

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.

Featured Stories

Earnings History for Lazard (NYSE:LAZ)

Receive News & Ratings for Lazard Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Lazard and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.