What Is La-Z-Boy Incorporated's (NYSE:LZB) Share Price Doing?
La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB), is not the largest company out there, but it received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the NYSE over the last few months, increasing to US$29.43 at one point, and dropping to the lows of US$22.53. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether La-Z-Boy's current trading price of US$24.52 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at La-Z-Boy’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.
View our latest analysis for La-Z-Boy
What's the opportunity in La-Z-Boy?
The share price seems sensible at the moment according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. I’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 7.04x is currently trading slightly above its industry peers’ ratio of 7.03x, which means if you buy La-Z-Boy today, you’d be paying a relatively reasonable price for it. And if you believe La-Z-Boy should be trading in this range, then there isn’t really any room for the share price grow beyond the levels of other industry peers over the long-term. Furthermore, it seems like La-Z-Boy’s share price is quite stable, which means there may be less chances to buy low in the future now that it’s priced similarly to industry peers. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta.
What kind of growth will La-Z-Boy generate?
Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company's future expectations. Though in the case of La-Z-Boy, it is expected to deliver a relatively unexciting earnings growth of 9.8%, which doesn’t help build up its investment thesis. Growth doesn’t appear to be a main reason for a buy decision for the company, at least in the near term.
What this means for you:
Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in LZB’s growth outlook, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at LZB? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio?
Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on LZB, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the positive growth outlook may mean it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.
If you'd like to know more about La-Z-Boy as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. For example, La-Z-Boy has 2 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) we think you should know about.
If you are no longer interested in La-Z-Boy, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
