Rafferty Asset Management LLC Purchases 18,031 Shares of La-Z-Boy Incorporated $LZB

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) by 124.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,576 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,031 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in La-Z-Boy were worth $1,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in La-Z-Boy by 7.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,434,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,237,000 after buying an additional 95,737 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 63,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its position in shares of La-Z-Boy by 2,520.9% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 2,294 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 7,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 160,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,511,000 after purchasing an additional 4,777 shares in the last quarter. 99.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other La-Z-Boy news, SVP Michael Adam Leggett sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total value of $81,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,473 shares in the company, valued at $1,571,501. This represents a 4.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

La-Z-Boy Stock Performance

LZB opened at $34.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $37.48 and its 200 day moving average is $35.93. La-Z-Boy Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $29.03 and a fifty-two week high of $44.49.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $541.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $535.47 million. La-Z-Boy had a return on equity of 10.79% and a net margin of 3.93%.La-Z-Boy’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that La-Z-Boy Incorporated will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

La-Z-Boy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.242 per share. This represents a $0.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. La-Z-Boy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LZB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded La-Z-Boy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of La-Z-Boy in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of La-Z-Boy in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of La-Z-Boy in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Sidoti upgraded La-Z-Boy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.50.

La-Z-Boy Company Profile

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.