Weak sales growth makes La-Z-Boy a hold

Article Excerpt

LA-Z-BOY INC. $10 (New York symbol LZB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 51.9 million; Market cap: $519.0 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; No dividends paid since March 2009; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.la-z-boy.com) makes reclining chairs and other furniture. The company’s aggressive cost cutting, which included laying off 25% of its workforce, shifting production to low-cost countries and closing unprofitable stores, is starting to pay off. In the three months ended January 22, 2011, earnings per share before unusual items fell 29.4%, to $0.12 from $0.17 a year earlier. Even so, the latest results beat the consensus estimate of $0.10 a share. Sales fell 4.3%, to $291.9 million from $305.1 million. La-Z-Boy is a hold. hold…