Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,890,000 shares, a decline of 15.0% from the September 15th total of 3,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 752,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Lazard Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE LAZ traded up $1.20 on Wednesday, hitting $54.30. 744,100 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 954,021. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.26. The company has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -154.97 and a beta of 1.39. Lazard has a 52-week low of $25.82 and a 52-week high of $54.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.40 million. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Lazard will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is -571.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on LAZ. UBS Group boosted their price target on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 target price (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lazard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,338,134.56. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,640,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,082,569.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $4,219,981.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at $74,679,058. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total value of $4,338,134.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,640,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,082,569.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 176,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,658,086 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 118.8% in the third quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 175,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,817,000 after buying an additional 95,000 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the third quarter worth approximately $421,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its position in Lazard by 108.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 43,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,202,000 after purchasing an additional 22,755 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Lazard by 32.7% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 26,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 6,400 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Lazard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $299,000. Institutional investors 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.