Brokers Issue Forecasts for Lazard’s Q4 Earnings (NYSE:LAZ)

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) – Equities researchers at Seaport Res Ptn cut their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Lazard in a report issued on Monday, January 13th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now expects that the asset manager will earn $0.54 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.75. The consensus estimate for Lazard’s current full-year earnings is $2.18 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Lazard’s Q3 2025 earnings at $0.92 EPS.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The business had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on LAZ. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research lowered Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Lazard from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Lazard from $59.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.50.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ opened at $49.57 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $53.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.88. Lazard has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $61.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Lazard by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 211,046 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,865,000 after acquiring an additional 2,386 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at $3,813,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,672 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 45,549 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $113,357,000 after purchasing an additional 206,295 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently 79.68%.

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.