Zacks Research Has Optimistic View of Lazard FY2025 Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research has raised its FY2025 earnings per share estimate for Lazard to $2.44, up from a previous estimate of $2.31, with current full-year earnings consensus at $4.24 per share.
• Multiple analysts, including Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley, have raised their price targets for Lazard, while the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $51.50.
• Lazard declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting a payout ratio of 68.97% and an annualized yield of 3.7% for investors.

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Lazard in a research report issued on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the asset manager will earn $2.44 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $2.31. 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 $0.82 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.77 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.99 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.00 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $3.57 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.02 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Lazard from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Lazard from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. JMP Securities set a $60.00 price target on Lazard and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.50.

Lazard Price Performance

NYSE:LAZ traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $53.38. 630,724 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,101,789. The firm's 50-day moving average is $50.43 and its 200-day moving average is $46.47. The stock has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 2.53. Lazard has a 1-year low of $31.97 and a 1-year high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $796.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $674.13 million. Lazard had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.96%.Lazard's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 1st quarter valued at $251,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lazard by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 287,574 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $12,452,000 after purchasing an additional 25,480 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Lazard by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,089 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard in the 1st quarter valued at $598,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Lazard by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 358,970 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $15,543,000 after purchasing an additional 17,418 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.97%.

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.