Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of Lazard Q3 Earnings

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for Lazard in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, July 2nd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the asset manager will post earnings of $0.53 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.51. 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 $0.87 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.71 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $0.90 EPS.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.27. Lazard had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 37.64%. The firm had revenue of $669.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $698.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Lazard from $33.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Lazard from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.33.

Lazard Trading Up 0.7%

Lazard stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.37. The stock had a trading volume of 788,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 967,755. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.16. Lazard has a 52 week low of $31.97 and a 52 week high of $61.14. The stock has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 3.24.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Lazard by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,788,512 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $555,393,000 after buying an additional 81,559 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 2,324.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,099,179 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $264,096,000 after acquiring an additional 5,847,608 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Lazard by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 5,619,280 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $243,315,000 after acquiring an additional 21,065 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Lazard by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,429,776 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $228,045,000 after acquiring an additional 240,938 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Lazard by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,297,249 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $118,294,000 after acquiring an additional 483,696 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.