FY2024 Earnings Estimate for Lazard Issued By Zacks Research

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research decreased their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Lazard in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, January 29th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the asset manager will earn $1.96 per share for the year, down from their previous 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 commented on LAZ. Wolfe Research lowered Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. One research 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, Lazard presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.00.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAZ opened at $54.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.92. 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 twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share (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%.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently 75.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 206,295 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,948,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $98,149,000 after purchasing an additional 55,469 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,813,553 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $91,392,000 after purchasing an additional 15,151 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,772,237 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $89,285,000 after purchasing an additional 37,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lazard by 10,306.7% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,235,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $62,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223,918 shares in the last quarter. 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.