La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on LZB. Zacks Research cut La-Z-Boy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of La-Z-Boy in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of La-Z-Boy in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of La-Z-Boy in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, La-Z-Boy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.50.

La-Z-Boy Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE LZB opened at $31.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.75 and a 200-day moving average of $35.56. La-Z-Boy has a 1-year low of $29.03 and a 1-year 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $535.47 million. La-Z-Boy had a return on equity of 10.79% and a net margin of 3.93%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that La-Z-Boy will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

La-Z-Boy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.242 per share. This represents a $0.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. La-Z-Boy’s payout ratio is presently 48.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael Adam Leggett sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $81,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,571,501. This represents a 4.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On La-Z-Boy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in La-Z-Boy by 159.5% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 112.1% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,554,000. Vident Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy during the fourth quarter worth about $565,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its holdings in shares of La-Z-Boy by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 26,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,653 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.62% of the company’s stock.

About La-Z-Boy

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.