Zacks Research Weighs in on Lazard, Inc.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:LAZ)

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) – Zacks Research cut their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for Lazard in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, October 3rd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the asset manager will post earnings of $0.42 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.43. The consensus estimate for Lazard’s current full-year earnings is $2.40 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lazard’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.81 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.40 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.39 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.37 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.55 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target (up previously from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.29.

Lazard Stock Up 1.4 %

LAZ stock opened at $49.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Lazard has a 1-year low of $25.82 and a 1-year high of $51.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.74. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -140.23 and a beta of 1.39.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.17. Lazard had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 41.78%. The firm had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LAZ. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Lazard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 48,534 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in Lazard by 254.2% during the fourth quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 377,693 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $13,144,000 after buying an additional 271,054 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Lazard by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 101,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,522,000 after buying an additional 13,500 shares in the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Lazard by 0.4% during the first quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 204,499 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,562,000 after buying an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lazard during the first quarter valued at about $405,000. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total value of $1,853,040.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,936,722 shares in the company, valued at $77,836,857.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 46,107 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total value of $1,853,040.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,936,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,836,857.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 87,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $4,219,981.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,553,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,679,058. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 429,604 shares of company stock worth $19,873,736 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is presently -571.43%.

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.