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

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) saw a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,400,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the August 15th total of 3,220,000 shares. Approximately 4.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 926,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Lazard Price Performance

NYSE LAZ traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.25. The company had a trading volume of 107,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 994,497. The company has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of -142.00 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.80. Lazard has a twelve month low of $25.82 and a twelve month high of $50.26.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $625.40 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 41.78% and a net margin of 5.50%. Lazard’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -571.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $9,362,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,729,722 shares in the company, valued at $78,235,326.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total transaction of $99,969.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,727,723 shares in the company, valued at $86,403,427.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 207,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total value of $9,362,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,729,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,235,326.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 429,604 shares of company stock worth $19,873,736 over the last ninety days. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Lazard by 1,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 58.9% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the second quarter worth approximately $87,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Lazard in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 target price (up from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Lazard from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.71.

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.