Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Leggett & Platt from $20.00 to $14.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Leggett & Platt from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. TheStreet lowered Leggett & Platt from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Leggett & Platt from $16.00 to $13.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $13.33.

Leggett & Platt Price Performance

Shares of LEG stock opened at $13.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.36 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.89. Leggett & Platt has a one year low of $11.02 and a one year high of $33.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. Leggett & Platt had a negative net margin of 3.44% and a positive return on equity of 11.31%. Leggett & Platt’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Leggett & Platt will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leggett & Platt Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Leggett & Platt’s payout ratio is presently -17.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leggett & Platt

In related news, EVP Ryan Michael Kleiboeker bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.39 per share, for a total transaction of $133,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,153.65. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leggett & Platt

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Leggett & Platt by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,996,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,107,000 after purchasing an additional 49,086 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 7.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,231,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,888,000 after buying an additional 405,363 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Leggett & Platt by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,373,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,127,000 after acquiring an additional 262,145 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,934,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,636,000 after acquiring an additional 786,297 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 45.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,699,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,186,000 after acquiring an additional 532,780 shares in the last quarter. 64.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Leggett & Platt

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated designs, manufactures, and sells engineered components and products in the United States, Europe, China, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Bedding Products; Specialized Products; and Furniture, Flooring & Textile Products. The company offers steel rods, drawn wires, specialty foam chemicals and additives, innersprings, specialty foam for use in bedding and furniture, private label finished mattresses, ready-to-assemble mattress foundations, static foundations, and adjustable beds, as well as machines for producing innersprings; industrial sewing and quilting machines; mattress-packaging; and glue-drying equipment for various industrial users of steel rod and wire, manufacturers of finished bedding, bedding brands and mattress retailers, E-commerce retailers, big box retailers, department stores, and home improvement centers.