La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) Raises Dividend to $0.22 Per Share

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 19th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This is a boost from La-Z-Boy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20.

La-Z-Boy has increased its dividend by an average of 28.6% annually over the last three years. La-Z-Boy has a dividend payout ratio of 23.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 LZB traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $42.77. 985,895 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 443,399. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.57. The company has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.29. La-Z-Boy has a 12-month low of $30.76 and a 12-month high of $45.23.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Janet Kerr sold 3,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Lynn Mccurry sold 4,414 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.31, for a total value of $182,342.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,779.16. The trade was a 25.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Sidoti downgraded shares of La-Z-Boy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st.

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.