La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.22 Per Share

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 20th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of 0.22 per share on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This is a positive change from La-Z-Boy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20.

La-Z-Boy has increased its dividend by an average of 28.6% per year over the last three years. La-Z-Boy has a payout ratio of 23.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect La-Z-Boy to earn $3.30 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.2%.

La-Z-Boy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LZB traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.57. 633,776 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 441,834. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.29. La-Z-Boy has a 52-week low of $30.76 and a 52-week high of $45.23. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $41.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.57.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $482.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. La-Z-Boy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that La-Z-Boy will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other La-Z-Boy news, CAO Jennifer Lynn Mccurry sold 4,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.31, for a total value of $182,342.34. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $546,779.16. This trade represents a 25.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Janet Kerr sold 3,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.89, for a total value of $159,062.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $137,881.08. This trade represents a 53.57 % 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.

La-Z-Boy Company Profile

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.