FY2025 Earnings Forecast for Lazard Issued By Zacks Research

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) – Zacks Research raised their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Lazard in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, June 9th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the asset manager will post earnings per share of $2.31 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $2.30. The consensus estimate for Lazard’s current full-year earnings is $4.24 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lazard’s Q4 2025 earnings at $0.88 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.70 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.89 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.89 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.02 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.78 EPS.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $669.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.39 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 44.58% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm’s revenue was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Lazard from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.33.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of LAZ opened at $43.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.72 and its 200-day moving average is $47.27. 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 12 month low of $31.97 and a 12 month high of $61.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at about $947,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 128.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 678,617 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,935,000 after purchasing an additional 381,546 shares during the last quarter. Monument Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,809,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,862,389 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $95,876,000 after buying an additional 90,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Lazard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,735,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lazard

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 64,539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.24, for a total transaction of $2,919,744.36. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.69%.

About Lazard

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.