This column is for investors willing to take more risk and potentially receive more reward.  The stocks mentioned in this column are not recommended to buy or sell.  They're brought to your attention so you can investigate them further to determine if they fit your risk profile.  Most of the stocks will have less than $1 billion of market capitalization, have more volatility than other stocks, and oftentimes no earnings.  And some will have tremendous stories.

April 8, 2010 - La-Z-Boy Inc. (LZB-NYSE) manufactures, markets, imports, distributes, and retails upholstery products and wood casegoods furniture products under the La-Z-Boy name in the United States and Canada. It operates in three segments: Upholstery Group, Casegoods Group, and Retail Group.

The Casegoods Group imports, markets,and distributes manufactured or imported wood casegoods furniture to furniture retailers. Products include tables, chairs, entertainment centers, headboards, dressers, accent pieces, and various coordinated upholstered furniture.

The Retail Group sells upholstered furniture to end consumers through a retail network. As of April 25, 2009, La-Z-Boy Incorporated had 68 company-owned La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores. The company was formerly known as Floral City Furniture and changed its name to La-Z-Boy Incorporated in 1996. La-Z-Boy Incorporated was founded in 1927 and is based in Monroe, Michigan.

A little over a year ago, this stock traded at 50 cents a share. Investors thought for sure the company was finished, sold the stock incessantly, taking the price from $11.80 to a half dollar in a few short months. But that was then. Now things look very positive for the company, and the stock rebounded strongly. You'll have to pay $13.75 for it now.

The reason: the usual: earnings. They were negative in 2007 and 2008, minus 1 cent, then minus 27 cents (fiscal year ends in April). But now profits are back. Analysts see this year finishing with 55 cents a share, then hitting 99 cents next year. For the final quarter (ending in April), 5 analysts have a consensus estimate of 23 cents a share, over three times the 7 cents posted last year in the final quarter. For the first quarter, look for 16 cents, four times the 4 cents made in the first period last year. For the past four consecutive quarters, per share profits beat the same quarter of the previous year.

Revenues followed the same path, going from $1.451 billion in 2007 to $1.227 billion in 2008. For 2009, analysts see $1.17 billion, then $1.26 billion in 2010. In the third quarter (ended in January) the company reported the first year-over-year sales increase in 4 years.

The upholstery division is seeing higher demand. The company's mid-tier product pricing still appeals to consumers even with a struggling economy. The well-recognized brand also helps keep the name highly visible to consumers. With the economy still hurting, consumers will continue to shop for better value, which is what La-Z-Boy delivers.

Management continues to increase productivity and streamlining operations to adjust to the new reality. The upholstery and casegoods groups have seen cost cutting and lowering capacity. Analysts think operating margins will increase by 150 basis points from these measures. One of the departments, cut and sew, has been moved to a new Mexico plant which should save about $20 million annually when it is fully operational.

More numbers: Price to sales ratio is .59. Price to book is 2.09. Book value is $6.36. Operating margin for the last 12 months was 2.91%. Profit margin was 2.20%. Return on equity was 7.82% while Return on assets was 3.52%. There's $79.51 million in the bank, making $1.54 a share. Total debt is $49.23 million. Current ratio is 2.89. Beta is a high 2.51. The stock is up 921% in 52-weeks. There are 51.55 million shares outstanding with a Float of 49.38 million. Insiders own 3.95%. Institutions have 78.10%. There is no dividend.

Aggressive investors will find this stock of interest. It's volatile, and though it hit a very low 50 cents a share only a short time ago, it did trade as high as $31 in 2002. The future looks bright as management adjusts the company for tough economic times. If global economies recover, all the forecasts will have to be raised.

- Company Web site: www.lazboy.com

- Ted Allrich