La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.50.

LZB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered La-Z-Boy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of La-Z-Boy from $46.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded La-Z-Boy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered La-Z-Boy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th.

La-Z-Boy Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE LZB traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $33.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 32,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 480,000. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.27. La-Z-Boy has a 52 week low of $29.03 and a 52 week high of $44.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.85.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 18th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.06). La-Z-Boy had a return on equity of 11.79% and a net margin of 3.86%.The firm had revenue of $475.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $501.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. La-Z-Boy’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that La-Z-Boy will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

La-Z-Boy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.242 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. La-Z-Boy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.24%.

Insider Activity at La-Z-Boy

In other La-Z-Boy news, CEO Melinda D. Whittington sold 26,639 shares of La-Z-Boy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.24, for a total transaction of $1,071,953.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 316,038 shares in the company, valued at $12,717,369.12. The trade was a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Terrence James Linz sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.23, for a total transaction of $100,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 64,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,128.09. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 66,299 shares of company stock valued at $2,677,491 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.12% 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. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in La-Z-Boy by 172.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 652 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in La-Z-Boy by 4,785.7% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in La-Z-Boy during the second quarter worth about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in La-Z-Boy by 290.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 901 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of La-Z-Boy by 99.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. 99.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.