Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) Short Interest Update

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,010,000 shares, an increase of 13.3% from the December 15th total of 4,420,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,780,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 3.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Leggett & Platt Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE LEG opened at $10.65 on Monday. Leggett & Platt has a one year low of $9.18 and a one year high of $24.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.77 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $10.98 and its 200-day moving average is $12.02.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Leggett & Platt had a positive return on equity of 14.99% and a negative net margin of 18.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Leggett & Platt will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leggett & Platt Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Leggett & Platt’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -3.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on LEG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Leggett & Platt from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Leggett & Platt from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $11.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.67.

Institutional Trading of Leggett & Platt

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Leggett & Platt by 426.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,042,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,923,000 after buying an additional 11,373,507 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,437,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,657,000 after purchasing an additional 27,693 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,377,000 after purchasing an additional 60,166 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 1,098.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,005,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Leggett & Platt in the third quarter valued at $15,735,000. 64.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.