La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) was in 11 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. LZB shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. There were 12 hedge funds in our database with LZB positions at the end of the previous quarter.
Just as important, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are many incentives for a corporate insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if investors know where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, it’s important to take a glance at the key action regarding La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB).
How are hedge funds trading La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB)?
At year’s end, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -8% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the largest position in La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB). Royce & Associates has a $26.7 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Impala Asset Management, managed by Robert Bishop, which held a $20.3 million position; the fund has 1.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.
Judging by the fact that La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) has witnessed a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies that decided to sell off their entire stakes at the end of the year. It’s worth mentioning that Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies cut the largest investment of the 450+ funds we key on, comprising about $2 million in stock.. Steven Cohen’s fund, SAC Capital Advisors, also sold off its stock, about $0.2 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds at the end of the year.
Insider trading activity in La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB)
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB). These stocks are Tempur-Pedic International Inc. (NYSE:TPX), American Woodmark Corporation (NASDAQ:AMWD), Mattress Firm Holding Corp (NASDAQ:MFRM), Select Comfort Corp. (NASDAQ:SCSS), and Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE:ETH). This group of stocks are the members of the home furnishings & fixtures industry and their market caps resemble LZB’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Tempur-Pedic International Inc. (NYSE:TPX) | 15 | 1 | 3 |
| American Woodmark Corporation (NASDAQ:AMWD) | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| Mattress Firm Holding Corp (NASDAQ:MFRM) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Select Comfort Corp. (NASDAQ:SCSS) | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE:ETH) | 11 | 0 | 15 |
With the results demonstrated by our studies, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) applies perfectly to this mantra.
