486,324 Shares in La-Z-Boy Incorporated $LZB Bought by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 486,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,511,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 1.22% of La-Z-Boy as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of La-Z-Boy in the second quarter worth about $265,535,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of La-Z-Boy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,814,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,422,000 after acquiring an additional 38,513 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of La-Z-Boy by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,694,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,594,000 after acquiring an additional 38,870 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,851,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,019,000 after purchasing an additional 358,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,476,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,043,000 after purchasing an additional 11,983 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Melinda D. Whittington sold 26,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.24, for a total transaction of $1,071,953.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 316,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,717,369.12. The trade was a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Terrence James Linz sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.23, for a total transaction of $100,575.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 64,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,128.09. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 66,299 shares of company stock valued at $2,677,491 in the last ninety days. 3.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LZB. Wall Street Zen cut La-Z-Boy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on La-Z-Boy from $46.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings cut La-Z-Boy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded La-Z-Boy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.50.

La-Z-Boy Stock Performance

NYSE LZB opened at $33.82 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.85. La-Z-Boy Incorporated has a one year low of $29.03 and a one year high of $44.90. The company has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.27.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 18th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.06). La-Z-Boy had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 11.79%. The firm had revenue of $475.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $501.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that La-Z-Boy Incorporated will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

La-Z-Boy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.242 dividend. This represents a $0.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. La-Z-Boy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.24%.

Key Stories Impacting La-Z-Boy

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

• Positive Sentiment: La-Z-Boy’s retail business showed momentum, with retail-segment sales reportedly rising 16% and the company returning $35 million to shareholders. La-Z-Boy Shatters Records: 16% Retail Segment Sales Growth and $35 Million Shareholder Returns
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects second-quarter sales of $500 million to $520 million while investing in supply-chain capacity and retail expansion, signaling confidence in longer-term growth. La-Z-Boy expects Q2 sales of $500M-$520M while investing in supply chain and retail expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage indicates that strong retail performance was offset by weaker wholesale results, highlighting uneven demand across La-Z-Boy’s distribution channels. La-Z-Boy’s retail momentum offset by wholesale numbers in Q1
• Negative Sentiment: Sidoti lowered its FY2027 EPS forecast to $2.55 from $2.66, cut Q2 2027 estimates to $0.48 from $0.73, and reduced Q3 and Q4 estimates to $0.59 and $1.04, respectively. Its Q2 2028 forecast fell to $0.58 from $0.87.
• Negative Sentiment: Sidoti also reduced FY2028 EPS expectations to $3.00 from $3.32. The repeated estimate cuts imply analysts see softer profitability ahead, which is likely weighing on LZB shares.
• Negative Sentiment: La-Z-Boy’s latest reported quarter missed expectations, with EPS of $0.43 versus $0.49 expected and revenue of $475.69 million versus $501.44 million forecast; revenue declined 3.4% year over year.

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.