La-Z-Boy (LZB) will start paying a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share in September 2020. Earlier this year the company suspended its quarterly dividend of 14 cents because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The furniture manufacturer had raised its dividend seven consecutive years prior to this year.

In the company's press release dated August 18, 2020, the company reports fiscal 2021 first quarter results and also announces the reinstatement of the quarterly dividend. The 7 cent dividend will be paid on September 15, 2020, to shareholders of record as of September 3, 2020. An annualized dividend rate of 28 cents per share will yield 0.9% at a stock price of $30.37.

Earlier this year La-Z-Boy announced the elimination of the June quarterly dividend and termination of the share repurchase program indefinitely to prioritize near-term financial flexibility. La-Z-Boy stated that it remains committed to paying dividends over the long-term and will seek to resume dividends as business conditions improve. Likewise, the company will reinstate share repurchases when it deems appropriate.

La-Z-Boy had announced a dividend hike in each of the previous seven years, with double digit dividend growth from 2013 until 2016. Dividend growth has slowed since 2017, but still averages 11.8 percent annually on a 5 year basis. The company will now pay an estimated annual dividend of $13 million to its shareholders. 

La-Z-Boy Incorporated is a residential furniture producer. The La-Z-Boy Upholstery segment companies are England and La-Z-Boy. The Casegoods segment consists of three brands: American Drew, Hammary, and Kincaid. The company-owned Retail segment includes La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores. Joybird is an e-commerce retailer and manufacturer of upholstered furniture. The corporation’s branded distribution network sells La-Z-Boy Incorporated products and brands, and includes stand-alone La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores and independent Comfort Studio locations, in addition to in-store gallery programs for the company’s Kincaid and England operating units. Edward M. Knabusch and Edwin J. Shoemaker started Floral City Furniture in 1927, and in 1928 the newly formed company introduced its first recliner. In 1941, the company was incorporated in the state of Michigan as La-Z-Boy Chair Company, and in 1996 the company changed its name to La-Z-Boy Incorporated.