Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 34,524 Shares of Interface, Inc. $TILE

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ:TILE) by 13.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 295,372 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 34,524 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Interface were worth $7,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TILE. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Interface by 133.9% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,008,260 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $56,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149,733 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Interface by 413.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 499,035 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $13,933,000 after acquiring an additional 401,912 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Interface by 273.1% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 386,828 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $10,800,000 after acquiring an additional 283,152 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Interface by 2,333.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 280,986 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $7,845,000 after purchasing an additional 269,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Interface by 107.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 460,156 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $11,467,000 after purchasing an additional 238,515 shares in the last quarter. 98.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interface

In other news, VP David B. Foshee sold 44,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $1,287,397.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 175,014 shares in the company, valued at $5,075,406. This trade represents a 20.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bruce Andrew Hausmann sold 50,000 shares of Interface stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.66, for a total value of $1,483,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 119,256 shares in the company, valued at $3,537,132.96. This trade represents a 29.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TILE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Interface from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Interface in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Interface from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Interface in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Interface in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.00.

Interface Trading Up 0.8%

TILE stock opened at $33.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Interface, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.37 and a 1-year high of $36.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.88.

Interface (NASDAQ:TILE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The textile maker reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.08. Interface had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 20.09%. The firm had revenue of $331.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $320.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Interface, Inc. will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interface Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Interface’s payout ratio is currently 5.61%.

About Interface

Interface, Inc (NASDAQ: TILE) is a global manufacturer of modular flooring and resilient commercial flooring solutions. The company specializes in carpet tiles, luxury vinyl tile (LVT) and other environmentally responsible hard-surface products designed for use in corporate, education, healthcare, hospitality and retail environments. Interface’s portfolio also includes broadloom carpet, rubber flooring and acoustic underlays, all engineered to meet performance, design and sustainability requirements in modern interior spaces.

Founded in 1973 by Ray C.