Zacks Research Weighs in on Lazard’s Q4 Earnings (NYSE:LAZ)

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q4 2025 earnings per share estimates for Lazard in a report issued on Monday, April 7th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the asset manager will post earnings of $1.31 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.39. The consensus estimate for Lazard’s current full-year earnings is $4.24 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lazard’s Q1 2026 earnings at $1.38 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.35 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.97 EPS.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Lazard from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $56.00 to $33.00 in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.83.

Lazard Trading Up 15.0 %

NYSE LAZ opened at $38.41 on Tuesday. Lazard has a one year low of $31.97 and a one year high of $61.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Lazard by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,169 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC increased its position in Lazard by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 9,790 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Lazard by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 48,129 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,478,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 18,981 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.24, for a total transaction of $2,919,744.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 234,824 shares in the company, valued at $10,623,437.76. This represents a 21.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 189,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,120,541. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

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