La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

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

La-Z-Boy Stock Down 0.1%

La-Z-Boy stock opened at $29.21 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $31.84 and a 200-day moving average of $35.51. La-Z-Boy has a 52-week low of $28.79 and a 52-week high of $44.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Robert Sundy, II sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Janet Kerr sold 3,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.75, for a total transaction of $115,982.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,968.75. This trade represents a 46.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 3.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On La-Z-Boy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in La-Z-Boy in the 2nd quarter worth $265,535,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy during the second quarter valued at about $19,511,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy during the second quarter valued at about $17,346,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy during the second quarter valued at about $17,158,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy during the second quarter valued at about $6,475,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.