Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) Stock Price

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $51.00 to $55.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 1.50% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com cut Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.17.

Lazard Stock Up 1.2 %

Lazard stock traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $55.84. The company had a trading volume of 60,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,019,279. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $52.93 and its 200-day moving average is $50.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $35.56 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.20 and a beta of 1.40.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%. On average, research analysts forecast that Lazard will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lazard by 10,306.7% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,235,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $62,259,000 after buying an additional 1,223,918 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 5,770.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,064,431 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $53,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,298 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,560,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Lazard by 10.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $113,357,000 after purchasing an additional 206,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.