Zacks Research Has Positive Forecast for Lazard Q1 Earnings

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Lazard in a research note issued on Thursday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the asset manager will post earnings per share of $0.91 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.82. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. 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 $0.78 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.94 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.04 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $3.68 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.39 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.39 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.38 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.26 EPS.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.17. Lazard had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 35.02%. The firm had revenue of $782.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Lazard’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on LAZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Lazard from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 price target on Lazard and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $47.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Lazard in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lazard in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lazard has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.00.

Lazard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAZ traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.35. 46,480 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,027,776. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 2.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $51.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.74. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84 and a beta of 1.38. Lazard has a twelve month low of $31.97 and a twelve month high of $60.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lazard by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,180,752 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $590,120,000 after acquiring an additional 245,205 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Lazard by 2,324.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,099,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $264,096,000 after purchasing an additional 5,847,608 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 2.4% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 5,753,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $276,077,000 after purchasing an additional 134,717 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 141.6% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,263,046 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $97,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Lazard by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,108,229 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $101,153,000 after purchasing an additional 180,244 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lazard

In related news, CEO Evan L. Russo sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total value of $2,847,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 227,915 shares in the company, valued at $12,979,759.25. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Peter Richard Orszag sold 32,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction of $1,756,572.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 183,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,913,290.66. This represents a 15.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 108,092 shares of company stock valued at $6,030,986. 3.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Lazard’s payout ratio is 79.05%.

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.