La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Analysts

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.50.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LZB. KeyCorp reduced their target price on La-Z-Boy from $46.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings cut La-Z-Boy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded La-Z-Boy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded La-Z-Boy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th.

La-Z-Boy Trading Down 2.9%

NYSE:LZB opened at $29.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.53. La-Z-Boy has a twelve month low of $28.79 and a twelve month high of $44.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.24.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 18th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $475.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $501.44 million. La-Z-Boy had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 11.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that La-Z-Boy will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

La-Z-Boy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a $0.2420 dividend. This represents a $0.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. La-Z-Boy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Janet Kerr sold 3,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.75, for a total transaction of $115,982.75. Following the sale, the director owned 4,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,968.75. This trade represents a 46.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Robert Sundy, II sold 5,000 shares of La-Z-Boy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.85, for a total value of $154,250.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 59,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,829,312.45. This represents a 7.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LZB. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of La-Z-Boy during the 2nd quarter worth $265,535,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of La-Z-Boy by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,694,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,594,000 after purchasing an additional 38,870 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of La-Z-Boy by 2.6% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 755,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,085,000 after purchasing an additional 18,997 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of La-Z-Boy by 4.6% in the first quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 591,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,022,000 after purchasing an additional 26,009 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy in the second quarter valued at $19,511,000. 99.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

La-Z-Boy Company Profile

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE: LZB) is a furniture manufacturer and retailer best known for its upholstered reclining chairs. The company’s product portfolio also includes sofas, sectionals, stationary chairs, loveseats, ottomans, tables, beds and other home furnishings, offered in a range of styles, fabrics and leather options.

La-Z-Boy operates through a combination of furniture manufacturing, wholesale and retail activities. Its products are sold through company-owned La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries, independent furniture dealers and other retail channels, including its e-commerce platform.