FY2024 Earnings Estimate for Lazard Issued By Zacks Research

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) – Zacks Research lowered their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Lazard in a research report issued on Wednesday, January 29th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the asset manager will earn $1.96 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $2.18. The consensus estimate for Lazard’s current full-year earnings is $2.06 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lazard’s Q1 2025 earnings at $0.68 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.96 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $3.80 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.21 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.30 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.15 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.93 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.00.

Lazard Price Performance

Lazard stock opened at $54.52 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $52.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24. The firm has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 1.40. Lazard has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Claro Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 10,306.7% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,235,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $62,259,000 after buying an additional 1,223,918 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lazard by 5,770.1% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,064,431 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $53,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,298 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in Lazard in the third quarter valued at about $13,560,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lazard by 10.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $113,357,000 after acquiring an additional 206,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the third quarter worth about $8,430,000. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s payout ratio is 79.68%.

About Lazard

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.