Q3 2024 EPS Estimates for Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) Decreased by Zacks Research

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for Lazard in a report issued on Thursday, May 16th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the asset manager will post earnings of $0.78 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.91. The consensus estimate for Lazard's current full-year earnings is $3.05 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lazard's Q4 2024 earnings at $1.07 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $3.00 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.89 EPS and Q2 2025 earnings at $1.02 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $49.00 target price (down previously from $51.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, TheStreet raised Lazard from a "d+" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.67.

Lazard Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of LAZ stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.80. 562,150 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,090,419. Lazard has a 12 month low of $25.82 and a 12 month high of $42.24. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -116.57 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13. The company's 50-day moving average price is $39.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.37.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The asset manager reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.08. Lazard had a negative net margin of 0.63% and a positive return on equity of 37.27%. The firm had revenue of $765.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $678.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.26) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In other Lazard news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total transaction of $2,951,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 227,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,950,078.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company's stock.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. Lazard's dividend payout ratio is currently -571.41%.

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.