La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB – Get Rating) in a report released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the stock.

Separately, TheStreet raised La-Z-Boy from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Thursday, January 26th.

La-Z-Boy Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of LZB stock traded down $0.76 on Thursday, hitting $28.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,113,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 485,417. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $28.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.92. La-Z-Boy has a twelve month low of $21.92 and a twelve month high of $33.06.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $572.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $529.57 million. La-Z-Boy had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 7.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that La-Z-Boy will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

La-Z-Boy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 7th were issued a $0.182 dividend. This is a boost from La-Z-Boy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 6th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. La-Z-Boy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On La-Z-Boy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new position in La-Z-Boy in the 4th quarter worth about $80,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in La-Z-Boy by 84.7% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its stake in La-Z-Boy by 406.4% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 3,670 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its stake in La-Z-Boy by 30,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 4,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 4,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in La-Z-Boy by 540.7% during the 1st quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 4,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 3,682 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.55% of the company’s stock.

About La-Z-Boy

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La-Z-Boy, Inc engages in the production of reclining chairs and manufacture and distribution of residential furniture. It operates through the following segments: Wholesale, Retail, and Corporate and Other. The Wholesale segment manufactures and imports upholstered furniture, such as recliners and motion furniture, sofas, loveseats, chairs, sectionals, modulars, ottomans and sleeper sofas and imports casegoods (wood) furniture, such as occasional pieces, bedroom sets, dining room sets and entertainment centers.