Bank of America Initiates Coverage on Lazard (NYSE:LAZ)

Research analysts at Bank of America began coverage on shares of Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the asset manager’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 24.23% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on LAZ. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Lazard from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 price objective on Lazard and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Lazard from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.13.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ stock traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $52.32. The company had a trading volume of 130,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 899,317. The firm has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.98. Lazard has a one year low of $31.97 and a one year high of $58.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 2.58.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.17. Lazard had a return on equity of 35.02% and a net margin of 8.89%.The business had revenue of $770.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Lazard will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAZ. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lazard by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 590 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Lazard by 53.5% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 643 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Lazard in the third quarter worth $37,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter valued at $42,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lazard

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is a leading global financial advisory and asset management firm, offering a comprehensive suite of services to corporations, governments and individuals. Founded in 1848, Lazard has built a reputation for providing independent advice and innovative solutions in complex financial transactions. The firm is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAZ and maintains its headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In its Financial Advisory segment, Lazard assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, capital structure optimization and strategic planning.