La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) shares were down 20.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $24.52 and last traded at $24.95, with a volume of 4,309,858 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $31.25.
The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.05. La-Z-Boy had a net margin of 5.65% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The firm had revenue of $357.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year.
La-Z-Boy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 6,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LZB shares. Sidoti downgraded La-Z-Boy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Zacks Investment Research downgraded La-Z-Boy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 24th. Finally, BidaskClub downgraded La-Z-Boy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. La-Z-Boy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.50.
In related news, Chairman Kurt L. Darrow sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.52, for a total value of $3,152,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 531,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,761,484.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Louis M. Riccio, Jr. sold 37,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.35, for a total value of $1,213,254.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 123,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,990,501.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.17% of the company’s stock.
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of La-Z-Boy during the first quarter worth about $107,000. Point72 Asia Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of La-Z-Boy during the first quarter worth about $110,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of La-Z-Boy by 39.6% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 1,206 shares during the period. First Quadrant L P CA acquired a new position in shares of La-Z-Boy during the second quarter worth about $167,000. Finally, Miles Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of La-Z-Boy by 0.3% in the first quarter. Miles Capital Inc. now owns 7,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. 84.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.08.
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La-Z-Boy Company Profile
La-Z-Boy Incorporated manufactures, markets, imports, exports, distributes and retails upholstery furniture products. The Company also imports, distributes and retails accessories and casegoods (wood) furniture products. The Company’s segments include the Upholstery segment, the Casegoods segment and the Retail segment.
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