Short Interest in Lazard Ltd (NYSE:LAZ) Increases By 7.8%

Lazard Ltd (NYSE:LAZ) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,040,000 shares, an increase of 7.8% from the October 15th total of 2,820,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 613,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Lazard Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of LAZ traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $26.82. 1,519,265 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 710,137. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.03. Lazard has a 1 year low of $25.82 and a 1 year high of $43.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.73 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $29.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.26.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The asset manager reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.09). Lazard had a negative net margin of 3.87% and a positive return on equity of 15.28%. The business had revenue of $532.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $572.54 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. Lazard’s quarterly revenue was down 26.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lazard will post 0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 6th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.46%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently -169.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Lazard in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lazard from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 27th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Lazard from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Lazard from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $32.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 19th. Finally, JMP Securities decreased their price target on Lazard from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,065,467 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $320,383,000 after purchasing an additional 128,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 4.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,563,521 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $296,565,000 after purchasing an additional 436,034 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 5.4% during the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 8,560,437 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $295,335,000 after purchasing an additional 439,866 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Lazard by 0.5% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,669,725 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $148,638,000 after acquiring an additional 25,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Lazard by 14.1% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,750,853 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $121,565,000 after acquiring an additional 462,677 shares in the last quarter. 57.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard Ltd, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial advisory and asset management firm in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Central and South America. It operates in two segments, Financial Advisory and Asset Management. The Financial Advisory segment offers various financial advisory services regarding mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital advisory, shareholder advisory, capital raising, sovereign advisory, and other strategic advisory matters.