La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $29.59, but opened at $34.29. La-Z-Boy shares last traded at $35.26, with a volume of 657,007 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $522.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.63 million. La-Z-Boy had a net margin of 4.35% and a return on equity of 11.34%. La-Z-Boy’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. La-Z-Boy has set its Q3 2026 guidance at EPS.

La-Z-Boy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.242 per share. This is a boost from La-Z-Boy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $0.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. La-Z-Boy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised La-Z-Boy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of La-Z-Boy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Sidoti raised shares of La-Z-Boy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Janet Kerr sold 3,372 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total value of $120,380.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,412.10. This trade represents a 48.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On La-Z-Boy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LZB. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in La-Z-Boy by 208.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,492,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,237,000 after buying an additional 1,009,428 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of La-Z-Boy by 68.9% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 881,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,466,000 after buying an additional 359,736 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy in the first quarter valued at approximately $10,806,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy in the first quarter valued at approximately $10,725,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 64.5% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 391,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,551,000 after acquiring an additional 153,498 shares during the last quarter. 99.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

La-Z-Boy Stock Up 19.2%

The firm has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $32.73 and its 200-day moving average is $36.75.

About La-Z-Boy

La-Z-Boy Incorporated manufactures, markets, imports, exports, distributes, and retails upholstery furniture products, accessories, and casegoods furniture products in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Wholesale, Retail, Corporate and Other segments. 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, distributes, and retails casegoods (wood) furniture, including occasional pieces, bedroom sets, dining room sets, entertainment centers, and occasional pieces.