Zacks Research Has Negative Outlook for Lazard Q3 Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research has revised its Q3 2025 earnings per share estimate for Lazard down to $0.40, from a previous forecast of $0.47, while maintaining a "Hold" rating on the stock.
• Despite the negative outlook from Zacks, several analysts, including Citigroup and JMP Securities, have issued upgrades on Lazard, with target prices ranging from $50 to $65.
• Lazard recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, which represents a dividend yield of 3.6%, and its payout ratio is currently at 68.97%.

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Lazard in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, September 23rd. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the asset manager will post earnings of $0.40 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.47. Zacks Research has a "Hold" rating on the stock. 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 $0.90 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.02 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $3.60 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.30 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.32 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.08 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Lazard in a report on Monday, July 14th. JMP Securities set a $60.00 price objective on Lazard and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Lazard from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lazard from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Lazard from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.00.

Lazard Stock Down 0.5%

LAZ opened at $56.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 2.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $54.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.26. Lazard has a 12 month low of $31.97 and a 12 month high of $61.14.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $796.00 million during 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%.The firm's revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lazard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $251,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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. raised its position in shares of 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 position in shares of Lazard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $598,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 32,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction of $1,756,572.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,913,290.66. This trade represents a 15.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total value of $2,847,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 227,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,979,759.25. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 108,092 shares of company stock worth $6,030,986. 2.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Lazard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.97%.

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.

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