Analysts Issue Forecasts for Lazard’s Q4 Earnings (NYSE:LAZ)

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) – Analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q4 2025 earnings estimates for Lazard in a report issued on Thursday, February 20th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the asset manager will post earnings of $1.39 per share for the quarter, down from their previous 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 weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research cut shares of Lazard from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lazard from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Lazard from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.33.

Lazard Price Performance

Shares of LAZ opened at $49.27 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 1.41. Lazard has a 52-week low of $35.56 and a 52-week high of $61.14. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $51.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lazard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,788,512 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $555,393,000 after acquiring an additional 81,559 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Lazard by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,429,776 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $228,045,000 after purchasing an additional 240,938 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lazard by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,297,249 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $118,294,000 after purchasing an additional 483,696 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lazard by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,250,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $113,357,000 after purchasing an additional 206,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Lazard by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,948,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,149,000 after purchasing an additional 55,469 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total transaction of $1,383,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,041,943.36. This trade represents a 13.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. Lazard’s payout ratio is 75.19%.

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.