Zacks Research Has Pessimistic Outlook of Lazard Q1 Earnings

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) – Zacks Research cut their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Lazard in a research note issued to investors on Monday, April 7th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the asset manager will post earnings of $0.55 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate 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.

A number of other analysts have also commented on LAZ. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut Lazard from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $33.00 in a report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.83.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAZ opened at $38.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Lazard has a 1-year low of $31.97 and a 1-year high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its 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 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lazard

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Lazard during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lazard by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.56, for a total transaction of $2,940,396.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,758,184.60. This trade represents a 27.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163,448 shares in the company, valued at $9,041,943.36. This trade represents a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 189,078 shares of company stock worth $9,120,541. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.19%.

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.