La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded La-Z-Boy from “strong sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $39.50 price target.
• La-Z-Boy shares opened at $29.21, near their one-year low of $28.79, after the company missed quarterly expectations with EPS of $0.43 versus $0.49 expected and revenue of $475.69 million versus $501.44 million projected.
• Two insiders sold shares in September, while institutional investors own a substantial 99.62% of the company’s stock.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on LZB. Wall Street Zen lowered La-Z-Boy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings cut La-Z-Boy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on La-Z-Boy from $46.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, La-Z-Boy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.50.

La-Z-Boy Price Performance

NYSE:LZB opened at $29.21 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.51. La-Z-Boy has a 1-year low of $28.79 and a 1-year high of $44.90.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 18th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $475.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $501.44 million. La-Z-Boy had a return on equity of 11.79% and a net margin of 3.86%. The firm's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that La-Z-Boy will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Janet Kerr sold 3,653 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.75, for a total value of $115,982.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $130,968.75. This trade represents a 46.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Robert Sundy, II sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.85, for a total transaction of $154,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 3.12% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On La-Z-Boy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in La-Z-Boy during the second quarter worth about $265,535,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,694,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,594,000 after purchasing an additional 38,870 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 755,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,085,000 after purchasing an additional 18,997 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 591,840 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,022,000 after purchasing an additional 26,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of La-Z-Boy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $19,511,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.62% of the company's stock.

La-Z-Boy Company Profile

La-Z-Boy Incorporated NYSE: LZB is a furniture manufacturer and retailer best known for its upholstered reclining chairs. The company's product portfolio also includes sofas, sectionals, stationary chairs, loveseats, ottomans, tables, beds and other home furnishings, offered in a range of styles, fabrics and leather options.

La-Z-Boy operates through a combination of furniture manufacturing, wholesale and retail activities. Its products are sold through company-owned La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries, independent furniture dealers and other retail channels, including its e-commerce platform.

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