Short Interest in Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Grows By 23.1%

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) was the target of a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,730,000 shares, a growth of 23.1% from the June 15th total of 3,030,000 shares. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 863,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Lazard Price Performance

NYSE LAZ traded up $1.64 on Tuesday, reaching $45.22. The company had a trading volume of 920,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,058,795. Lazard has a 1 year low of $25.82 and a 1 year high of $45.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.13 and a 200-day moving average of $38.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $765.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $678.57 million. Lazard had a positive return on equity of 37.27% and a negative net margin of 0.63%. Lazard’s quarterly revenue was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.26) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lazard will post 2.73 EPS for the current year.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -571.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 154,131 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total value of $6,197,607.51. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,989,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,001,454.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 6,762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $270,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,982,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,313,160. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 154,131 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total transaction of $6,197,607.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,989,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,001,454.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 207,000 shares of company stock worth $8,321,128 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 1,165.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 176,491 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,142,000 after buying an additional 162,549 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 140,285 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,882,000 after buying an additional 28,250 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 110,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,002,000 after buying an additional 35,103 shares during the last quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. raised its position in shares of Lazard by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 149,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,196,000 after acquiring an additional 40,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Lazard by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 67,594 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,353,000 after acquiring an additional 21,615 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 price objective (down previously from $51.00) on shares of Lazard in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

About Lazard

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.