La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $36.09 and traded as high as $39.20. La-Z-Boy shares last traded at $39.1710, with a volume of 370,520 shares traded.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on LZB. Sidoti raised shares of La-Z-Boy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $39.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of La-Z-Boy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On La-Z-Boy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in La-Z-Boy by 75.2% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of La-Z-Boy by 116.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of La-Z-Boy by 290.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 99.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of La-Z-Boy by 3,130.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.62% of the company’s stock.

La-Z-Boy Stock Up 1.6%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $37.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84 and a beta of 1.27.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $522.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $517.63 million. La-Z-Boy had a return on equity of 11.19% and a net margin of 4.29%.La-Z-Boy’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that La-Z-Boy Incorporated will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

La-Z-Boy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were issued a dividend of $0.242 per share. 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 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 4th. La-Z-Boy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.50%.

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.