Brokers Set Expectations for Lazard, Inc.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:LAZ)

by · The Markets Daily

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ – Free Report) – Equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn reduced their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Lazard in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, October 9th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now forecasts that the asset manager will earn $0.36 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.40. The consensus estimate for Lazard’s current full-year earnings is $2.43 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Lazard’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.87 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $2.40 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LAZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective (up from $49.00) on shares of Lazard in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Lazard in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Lazard from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price 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, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.14.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Lazard

Lazard Stock Performance

Lazard stock opened at $50.01 on Friday. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $25.82 and a fifty-two week high of $51.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.26 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $48.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.99.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.17. Lazard had a return on equity of 41.78% and a net margin of 5.50%. The business had revenue of $685.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $625.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lazard by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,678,365 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $447,103,000 after acquiring an additional 152,857 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lazard by 4.1% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,043,754 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $78,031,000 after purchasing an additional 79,889 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in Lazard during the 1st quarter valued at $65,650,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 651,521 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,875,000 after buying an additional 44,151 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Lazard by 19.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 481,406 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $18,370,000 after acquiring an additional 77,974 shares during the period. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Lazard

In other Lazard news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total transaction of $99,969.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,727,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,403,427.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 1,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total transaction of $99,969.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,727,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $86,403,427.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Kenneth M. Jacobs sold 86,728 shares of Lazard stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total value of $4,338,134.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,640,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,082,569.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 383,497 shares of company stock worth $18,020,696 over the last ninety days. 3.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lazard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Lazard’s payout ratio is presently 129.03%.

About Lazard

(Get Free Report)

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.

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