La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) Short Interest Update

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,500,000 shares, a decrease of 21.9% from the March 15th total of 3,200,000 shares. Currently, 5.9% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 401,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.2 days.

La-Z-Boy Stock Performance

Shares of LZB stock traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.97. 310,507 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 465,549. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 1.16. La-Z-Boy has a one year low of $25.12 and a one year high of $39.87. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $36.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.43.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $500.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $523.09 million. La-Z-Boy had a return on equity of 13.55% and a net margin of 5.73%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that La-Z-Boy will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

La-Z-Boy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. La-Z-Boy's payout ratio is 29.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael Adam Leggett sold 3,077 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.08, for a total value of $114,095.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,519 shares in the company, valued at $797,924.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of La-Z-Boy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of La-Z-Boy by 86.8% in the 3rd quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 43,135 shares of the company's stock worth $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 20,046 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of La-Z-Boy by 22.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 588,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 108,945 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new position in shares of La-Z-Boy during the third quarter worth about $21,100,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy in the 3rd quarter worth about $251,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in La-Z-Boy by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,849,000 after purchasing an additional 192,546 shares during the last quarter. 99.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of La-Z-Boy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th.

About La-Z-Boy

La-Z-Boy Incorporated manufactures, markets, imports, exports, distributes, and retails upholstery furniture products, accessories, and casegoods furniture products in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Wholesale, Retail, Corporate and Other segments. The Wholesale segment manufactures, and imports upholstered furniture, such as recliners and motion furniture, sofas, loveseats, chairs, sectionals, modulars, ottomans, and sleeper sofas; and imports, distributes, and retails casegoods (wood) furniture, including occasional pieces, bedroom sets, dining room sets, entertainment centers, and occasional pieces.