La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.00.

Several brokerages have commented on LZB. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of La-Z-Boy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded La-Z-Boy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st.

Insider Transactions at La-Z-Boy

In other La-Z-Boy news, insider Terrence James Linz sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.23, for a total transaction of $100,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 64,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,128.09. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Melinda D. Whittington sold 26,639 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.24, for a total transaction of $1,071,953.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 316,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,717,369.12. This trade represents a 7.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,299 shares of company stock valued at $2,677,491. Company insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of La-Z-Boy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,814,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,422,000 after acquiring an additional 38,513 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC bought a new position in La-Z-Boy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,958,000. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in La-Z-Boy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,433,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of La-Z-Boy by 124.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 32,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 18,031 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of La-Z-Boy by 595.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 148,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,524,000 after purchasing an additional 126,903 shares during the period. 99.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

La-Z-Boy Price Performance

LZB traded down $0.04 on Friday, hitting $39.27. 332,374 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 823,966. La-Z-Boy has a 12 month low of $29.03 and a 12 month high of $44.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.25.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 16th. The company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.44. La-Z-Boy had a net margin of 4.80% and a return on equity of 11.97%. The firm had revenue of $570.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $569.23 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that La-Z-Boy will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

La-Z-Boy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were paid a $0.242 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. La-Z-Boy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.27%.

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.