Seaport Res Ptn Comments on Lazard’s Q4 Earnings (NYSE:LAZ)

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) – Equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn cut their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Lazard in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, January 13th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now forecasts that the asset manager will earn $0.54 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.75. The consensus estimate for Lazard’s current full-year earnings is $2.18 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Lazard’s Q3 2025 earnings at $0.92 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut Lazard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $63.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered Lazard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lazard from $59.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Lazard from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.17.

Lazard Stock Performance

Lazard stock opened at $46.78 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64 and a beta of 1.40. Lazard has a 1-year low of $35.56 and a 1-year high of $61.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.90 and a 200-day moving average of $49.89.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.03). Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The firm had revenue of $646.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAZ. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lazard by 1,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 735 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Lazard in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. My Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lazard in the third quarter worth about $215,000. King Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $227,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $235,000. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.