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

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) saw a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,560,000 shares, an increase of 14.5% from the January 15th total of 5,730,000 shares. Approximately 7.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 923,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.33.

Lazard Stock Up 2.3 %

LAZ stock traded up $1.26 during trading on Monday, hitting $55.23. 730,312 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,025,253. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $52.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $61.14. 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 (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 return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lazard will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. The trade was a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in Lazard in the third quarter valued at approximately $421,000. Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 10,306.7% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,235,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $62,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223,918 shares during the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter worth approximately $439,000. My Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 348.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 17,604 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 13,682 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.