Research Analysts Set Expectations for Lazard Q4 Earnings

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Lazard in a research report issued on Thursday, February 20th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the asset manager will post earnings of $1.39 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.41. The consensus estimate for Lazard’s current full-year earnings is $4.24 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lazard’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.17 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.21 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $4.86 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.98 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities raised their target price on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Lazard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lazard has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.33.

Lazard Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of LAZ opened at $48.98 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.80. Lazard has a twelve month low of $35.56 and a twelve month high of $61.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. Lazard had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 44.58%.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Lazard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.64, for a total transaction of $1,877,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 188,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,108,350.72. This represents a 15.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAZ. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Lazard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lazard during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Lazard in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Lazard by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

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.