Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Downgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to “Market Perform”

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) was downgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $57.00 target price on the asset manager’s stock, down from their previous target price of $65.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 12.89% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $63.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.29.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ stock opened at $50.49 on Friday. Lazard has a 12-month low of $34.25 and a 12-month high of $61.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The company has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 1.38.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. The business had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Lazard will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,948,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $98,149,000 after buying an additional 55,469 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP purchased a new position in Lazard during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new position in Lazard in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,779,000. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new stake in Lazard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $934,000. Finally, Amica Mutual Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,700,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.