Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The asset manager reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.08, Briefing.com reports. Lazard had a positive return on equity of 37.47% and a negative net margin of 0.63%. The business had revenue of $765.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $678.57 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.26) EPS. Lazard’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAZ traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.99. 798,552 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 789,363. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.33 and its 200 day moving average is $35.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $25.82 and a fifty-two week high of $42.24.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. Lazard’s payout ratio is -571.41%.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total value of $2,951,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 227,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,950,078.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LAZ. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Lazard from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 target price (down previously from $51.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.67.

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.