Zacks Research Predicts Lazard’s FY2024 Earnings (NYSE:LAZ)

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research reduced their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Lazard in a research note issued on Wednesday, January 29th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the asset manager will earn $1.96 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast 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.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $60.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lazard has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.50.

Lazard Price Performance

Lazard stock opened at $55.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95 and a beta of 1.40. Lazard has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $61.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.77.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a return on equity of 42.20% and a net margin of 8.28%.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders 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 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is 79.68%.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Monument Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter worth $2,809,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Lazard during the 4th quarter worth about $530,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 153.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,569 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,522 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

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.