Equities Analysts Set Expectations for Lazard Q1 Earnings

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) – Zacks Research cut their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Lazard in a research report issued on Tuesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the asset manager will earn $0.81 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.83. The consensus estimate for Lazard’s current full-year earnings is $2.27 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lazard’s Q4 2025 earnings at $1.48 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.18 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.44 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.61 EPS.

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

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Lazard Price Performance

Lazard stock opened at $56.71 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.39. Lazard has a 12 month low of $30.99 and a 12 month high of $61.14. The company has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAZ. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Lazard by 58.9% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the second quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard during the second quarter worth approximately $88,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is 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.