La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $42.31, but opened at $45.00. La-Z-Boy shares last traded at $42.62, with a volume of 149,340 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is a boost from La-Z-Boy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. La-Z-Boy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Sidoti cut shares of La-Z-Boy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, August 21st.

La-Z-Boy Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.60.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $495.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $482.23 million. La-Z-Boy had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. Analysts expect that La-Z-Boy Incorporated will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Janet Kerr sold 3,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.89, for a total value of $159,062.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $137,881.08. This trade represents a 53.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Lynn Mccurry sold 4,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.31, for a total transaction of $182,342.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $546,779.16. This represents a 25.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On La-Z-Boy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LZB. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 11,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $802,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 36,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 25,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $944,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.62% of the company’s stock.

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.