La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.50.

Several analysts recently weighed in on LZB shares. Wall Street Zen raised La-Z-Boy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of La-Z-Boy in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered La-Z-Boy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th.

Insider Activity at La-Z-Boy

In other news, SVP Michael Adam Leggett sold 2,200 shares of La-Z-Boy stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $81,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 42,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,571,501. This trade represents a 4.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of La-Z-Boy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LZB. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 208.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,492,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,428 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy during the fourth quarter valued at about $18,433,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 100.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 627,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,392,000 after purchasing an additional 313,932 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 895,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,357,000 after purchasing an additional 283,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 64.5% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 391,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,551,000 after purchasing an additional 153,498 shares in the last quarter. 99.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

La-Z-Boy Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:LZB opened at $35.99 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 1.28. La-Z-Boy has a twelve month low of $29.03 and a twelve month high of $44.49.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $541.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $535.47 million. La-Z-Boy had a return on equity of 10.79% and a net margin of 3.93%.La-Z-Boy’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that La-Z-Boy will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

La-Z-Boy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.242 per share. This represents a $0.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. La-Z-Boy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.02%.

About La-Z-Boy

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE: LZB) is a leading U.S. manufacturer and marketer of residential furniture, best known for its upholstered recliners, sofas, stationary chairs and sleeper sofas. The company offers a broad range of products in both fabric and leather, complemented by occasional tables, desks, lamps and other home furnishings through its branded retail network.

Founded in 1927 by cousins Edward Knabusch and Edwin Shoemaker in Monroe, Michigan, La-Z-Boy pioneered the modern reclining chair.