Instinet (Nomura) Downgrades Lazard (LAZ) to Neutral

Instinet (Nomura) downgraded Lazard (NYSE: LAZ) from Buy to Neutral with a price target of $43.00.

Analyst Steven Chubak commented, "Based on our expectations for new tax legislation (lower corporate rate, fewer deductions), we would expect LAZ to convert from a Publicly Traded Partnership (PTP) to a C-Corp as this would enable the company to expand its investor base without suffering a material hit to earnings (see Nomura’s note for more detail). We adjust for this within our valuation framework by applying a mid-teens multiple given our expectation that LAZ's historical discount to both M&A and Asset Management peers should diminish pro forma conversion (Fig. 39). However, even after crediting a higher target multiple of 15x in line with M&A / Asset Mgmt. peers, we still see limited upside (Fig. 37), justifying a Neutral rating."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Lazard click here. For more ratings news on Lazard click here.

Shares of Lazard closed at $42.63 yesterday.

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