La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.50.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of La-Z-Boy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of La-Z-Boy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded La-Z-Boy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on La-Z-Boy from $46.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 20th.

La-Z-Boy Trading Down 2.7%

La-Z-Boy stock traded down $0.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $31.75. 653,072 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 542,484. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.41 and its 200 day moving average is $35.18. La-Z-Boy has a 52 week low of $28.39 and a 52 week high of $44.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.25.

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

La-Z-Boy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.2420 per share. This represents a $0.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. La-Z-Boy’s payout ratio is presently 49.24%.

Insider Transactions at La-Z-Boy

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in La-Z-Boy by 172.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP raised its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 4,718.2% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 1,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 159.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 713 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of La-Z-Boy during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. 99.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About La-Z-Boy

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) is an American furniture manufacturer and retailer best known for its upholstered reclining chairs and sofas. The company offers a broad range of residential furniture, including stationary and motion upholstery, sectionals, sofas, chairs, recliners, bedroom furniture, dining furniture, occasional tables and home accessories.

Founded in 1927, La-Z-Boy traces its origins to the development of an upholstered reclining chair by cousins Edward M. Knabusch and Edwin J.