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Is La-Z-Boy Incorporated (LZB) a Great Stock for Value Investors?

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Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put La-Z-Boy Incorporated (LZB - Free Report) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

PE Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, La-Z-Boy has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 15.5, as you can see in the chart below:


 
This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 17.7. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, La-Z-Boy’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint of 17.6 over the past five years,. Moreover, the current level stands well below the highs for the stock, suggesting that it can be a solid entry point.


 
Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 21.7. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.


 
We should also point out that La-Z-Boy has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 15.6, so it is fair to expect an increase in the company’s share price in the near term..

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, La-Z-Boy has a P/S ratio of about 0.9. This is significantly lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.2 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is well below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.


 
Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, La-Z-Boy currently has a Value Score of A, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes La-Z-Boy a solid choice for value investors.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though La-Z-Boy might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score and Momentum Score of B each. This gives LZB a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been encouraging. Both, the current quarter and full year have seen two estimates go higher in the past sixty days compared to no downward revisions.

As a result, the current quarter consensus estimate has risen by 1.5% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has increased 3.3%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

La-Z-Boy Incorporated Price and Consensus

La-Z-Boy Incorporated Price and Consensus | La-Z-Boy Incorporated Quote

This encouraging trend is why the stock has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and why we are looking for an outperformance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

La-Z-Boy is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. However, the company carries an unfavorable industry rank (bottom 17% out of more than 250 Zacks industries), which makes us cautious about the broader factors. Moreover, over the past two years, the industry has underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:


 
So, value investors might want to wait for the broader factors to turn favorable first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.

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