Zacks Research Brokers Lower Earnings Estimates for Lazard

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Lazard in a research report issued on Monday, April 7th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the asset manager will earn $0.55 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.77. The consensus estimate for Lazard's current full-year earnings is $4.24 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lazard's Q2 2025 earnings at $0.69 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.91 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $3.46 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.22 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.11 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.89 EPS.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on LAZ. Wolfe Research lowered Lazard from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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 downgraded Lazard from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $33.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JMP Securities lowered their price objective on Lazard from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.83.

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Lazard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAZ traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $35.11. 364,466 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 938,339. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard has a 52 week low of $31.97 and a 52 week high of $61.14. The company's 50 day moving average price is $46.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.62.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.70%. Lazard's payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total value of $1,383,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,041,943.36. This trade represents a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total value of $2,940,396.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. The trade was a 27.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Lazard during the third quarter valued at approximately $605,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lazard by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 40,425 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,028,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Lazard by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,948,167 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $98,149,000 after buying an additional 55,469 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in Lazard by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 28,142 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,418,000 after buying an additional 1,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC bought a new stake in Lazard during the third quarter valued at about $296,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.