Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Given New $54.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its price objective lifted by analysts at UBS Group from $50.00 to $54.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the asset manager’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 0.94% from the stock’s current price.

LAZ has been the subject of a number of other reports. JMP Securities increased their price target on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lazard from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.33.

Lazard Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:LAZ traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $53.50. The stock had a trading volume of 270,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,052,135. The firm has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%. On average, research analysts predict that Lazard will post 3.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 209.0% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

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.