La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

La-Z-Boy Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.57. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.29.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. La-Z-Boy had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 5.89%. The company had revenue of $495.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that La-Z-Boy Incorporated will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at La-Z-Boy

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On La-Z-Boy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in La-Z-Boy by 2.3% in the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 11,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of La-Z-Boy by 1.4% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in La-Z-Boy by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 36,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in La-Z-Boy by 1.7% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 25,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $944,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in La-Z-Boy by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.