La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $40.83, but opened at $33.70. La-Z-Boy shares last traded at $35.0410, with a volume of 315,833 shares.

The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $475.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $501.44 million. La-Z-Boy had a net margin of 4.80% and a return on equity of 11.97%. La-Z-Boy’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 EPS.

La-Z-Boy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.242 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. La-Z-Boy’s payout ratio is 38.87%.

More La-Z-Boy News

Here are the key news stories impacting La-Z-Boy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Retail written sales increased 16%, written same-store sales rose 3%, and delivered retail sales climbed 10%. Retail operating margins also improved year over year. La-Z-Boy added four company-owned stores and agreed to acquire two additional independently operated stores. La-Z-Boy First Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company returned approximately $35 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, while ending the quarter with $267.3 million in cash and no external debt. La-Z-Boy also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.242 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 2.4%.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is consolidating manufacturing capacity, having completed the closure of one plant and moved production into its U.S. network. The actions could improve efficiency over time but may create near-term restructuring and execution risks.
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal first-quarter revenue fell 3% year over year to $475.7 million, well below analyst expectations near $501 million. Wholesale sales declined 9% following the divestiture of the wholesale casegoods business, offsetting retail growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.43, missing estimates of roughly $0.48–$0.49 and declining from $0.47 a year earlier. On a GAAP basis, La-Z-Boy posted a $2.3 million net loss, or $0.06 per share, compared with a profit in the prior-year quarter. La-Z-Boy Misses First Quarter Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue guidance of $500 million to $520 million was below the approximately $537 million analyst consensus, reinforcing concerns that demand normalization will continue. The disappointing outlook prompted a sharp selloff, and one analyst characterized the shares as a “Hold” rather than a buying opportunity. La-Z-Boy Q1 Analysis

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LZB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of La-Z-Boy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen cut La-Z-Boy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at La-Z-Boy

In other La-Z-Boy news, SVP Michael Adam Leggett sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.66, for a total transaction of $374,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 47,551 shares in the company, valued at $1,980,974.66. This represents a 15.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Raphaell Z. Richmond sold 13,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.83, for a total value of $544,515.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 51,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,059,011.85. This represents a 20.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 66,299 shares of company stock worth $2,677,491 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of La-Z-Boy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in La-Z-Boy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,814,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,422,000 after buying an additional 38,513 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new position in La-Z-Boy during the fourth quarter worth about $18,433,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in La-Z-Boy by 69.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 116,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,732,000 after acquiring an additional 47,626 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in La-Z-Boy by 49.5% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 182,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,872,000 after acquiring an additional 60,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of La-Z-Boy in the first quarter worth about $4,884,000. 99.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

La-Z-Boy Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.27.

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.