Lazard, Inc. Expected to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $0.45 Per Share (NYSE:LAZ)

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) – Seaport Res Ptn reduced their Q2 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Lazard in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, April 10th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now anticipates that the asset manager will post earnings per share of $0.45 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.57. The consensus estimate for Lazard’s current full-year earnings is $3.15 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Lazard’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.36 EPS and Q2 2025 earnings at $0.83 EPS.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The asset manager reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.31. Lazard had a positive return on equity of 16.43% and a negative net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $825.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $666.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Lazard in a research note on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Lazard from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of Lazard stock opened at $38.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of -39.56 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51. Lazard has a 12 month low of $25.82 and a 12 month high of $42.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.78.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard in the 1st quarter worth about $405,000. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Lazard by 0.4% in the first quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 204,499 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,562,000 after buying an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in Lazard by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 101,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,522,000 after buying an additional 13,500 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in Lazard by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 50,494 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 490,278 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $17,064,000 after acquiring an additional 146,437 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.35, for a total transaction of $2,951,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 227,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,950,078.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.21%. Lazard’s payout ratio is currently -206.18%.

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.