Zacks Research Has Pessimistic Outlook of Lazard Q4 Earnings

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Lazard in a research note issued to investors on Monday, April 7th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the asset manager will post earnings per share of $1.31 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.39. The consensus estimate for Lazard's current full-year earnings is $4.24 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lazard's Q1 2026 earnings at $1.38 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.35 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.97 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Lazard from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $33.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.83.

Remove Ads

Lazard Price Performance

LAZ traded down $0.33 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,720,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 940,436. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $46.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.62. Lazard has a 12 month low of $31.97 and a 12 month high of $61.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 1.27.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Lazard's payout ratio is presently 75.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,041,943.36. The trade was a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.24, for a total value of $2,919,744.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 234,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,623,437.76. The trade was a 21.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541 in the last 90 days. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.