La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of La-Z-Boy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.00.

La-Z-Boy Price Performance

NYSE:LZB opened at $42.08 on Friday. La-Z-Boy has a one year low of $29.03 and a one year high of $44.90. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.27.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 16th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.44. La-Z-Boy had a net margin of 4.80% and a return on equity of 11.97%. The company had revenue of $570.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $569.23 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that La-Z-Boy will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at La-Z-Boy

In other La-Z-Boy news, VP Raphaell Z. Richmond sold 13,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.83, for a total value of $544,515.93. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 51,695 shares in the company, valued at $2,059,011.85. This represents a 20.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Lynn Mccurry sold 3,715 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.05, for a total value of $152,500.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 16,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $688,121.15. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 66,299 shares of company stock worth $2,677,491 over the last three months. 3.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On La-Z-Boy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy during the 2nd quarter worth about $265,535,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in La-Z-Boy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,814,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,422,000 after purchasing an additional 38,513 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in La-Z-Boy by 1.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,694,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,594,000 after buying an additional 38,870 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in La-Z-Boy by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,851,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,019,000 after buying an additional 358,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its stake in La-Z-Boy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,476,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,043,000 after buying an additional 11,983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.62% of the company’s stock.

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.