La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

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

La-Z-Boy Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of LZB stock opened at $39.56 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 1.27. La-Z-Boy has a 52-week low of $29.03 and a 52-week high of $48.31.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 18th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $522.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $517.63 million. La-Z-Boy had a return on equity of 11.19% and a net margin of 4.29%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. Analysts expect that La-Z-Boy will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

La-Z-Boy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th were paid a dividend of $0.242 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 4th. This is an increase from La-Z-Boy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. La-Z-Boy’s dividend payout ratio is 44.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On La-Z-Boy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in La-Z-Boy by 18.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 483,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,972,000 after purchasing an additional 75,580 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of La-Z-Boy by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 721,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,400,000 after buying an additional 113,396 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of La-Z-Boy by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,338,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,767,000 after buying an additional 88,852 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of La-Z-Boy by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 246,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,166,000 after buying an additional 27,510 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in La-Z-Boy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 182,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. 99.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.