Lazard, Inc. Forecasted to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $0.36 Per Share (NYSE:LAZ)

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Seaport Res Ptn decreased their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Lazard in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, October 9th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now forecasts that the asset manager will post earnings of $0.36 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.40. The consensus estimate for Lazard's current full-year earnings is $2.43 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Lazard's Q4 2024 earnings at $0.87 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $2.40 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.14.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ traded up $2.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $52.69. 1,183,708 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 957,890. The company has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.00 and a beta of 1.39. Lazard has a 52-week low of $25.82 and a 52-week high of $52.88. 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 company's 50-day moving average price is $48.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.99.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.17. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. The company had revenue of $685.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $625.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. Lazard's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Lazard by 58.9% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd grew its position in Lazard by 3.3% during the second quarter. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd now owns 18,392 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Lazard by 1,125.0% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in Lazard by 22.2% during the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,400 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares of the company's stock, valued at $74,679,058. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,553,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,679,058. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $4,338,134.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,640,995 shares in the company, valued at $82,082,569.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 383,497 shares of company stock valued at $18,020,696 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Lazard's payout ratio is presently 129.03%.

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.