Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Interface, Inc. $TILE

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ:TILE) by 13.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 295,372 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,524 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.51% of Interface worth $7,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TILE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Interface by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,689,857 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $75,105,000 after buying an additional 36,530 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Interface by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,192,472 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $61,214,000 after acquiring an additional 14,764 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Interface by 133.9% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,008,260 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $56,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149,733 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Interface by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 993,413 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $27,736,000 after acquiring an additional 111,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Interface by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 870,156 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $24,295,000 after purchasing an additional 33,650 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Interface

In other news, VP David B. Foshee sold 44,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $1,287,397.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 175,014 shares in the company, valued at $5,075,406. This trade represents a 20.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bruce Andrew Hausmann sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.66, for a total value of $1,483,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 119,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,537,132.96. This trade represents a 29.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 2.47% of the company’s stock.

Interface Price Performance

NASDAQ TILE opened at $33.80 on Friday. Interface, Inc. has a one year low of $20.37 and a one year high of $36.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $32.36 and a 200 day moving average of $30.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 2.43. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.88.

Interface (NASDAQ:TILE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The textile maker reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.08. Interface had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 20.09%. The firm had revenue of $331.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $320.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Interface, Inc. will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

Interface Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Interface’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TILE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Interface in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Interface from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Benchmark started coverage on Interface in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Interface in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Interface from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.00.

Interface Profile

Interface, Inc (NASDAQ: TILE) is a global manufacturer of modular flooring and resilient commercial flooring solutions. The company specializes in carpet tiles, luxury vinyl tile (LVT) and other environmentally responsible hard-surface products designed for use in corporate, education, healthcare, hospitality and retail environments. Interface’s portfolio also includes broadloom carpet, rubber flooring and acoustic underlays, all engineered to meet performance, design and sustainability requirements in modern interior spaces.

Founded in 1973 by Ray C.