Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Leggett & Platt from $16.00 to $13.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Leggett & Platt from $20.00 to $14.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Truist Financial cut their price target on Leggett & Platt from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Leggett & Platt from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $12.67.

Leggett & Platt Price Performance

LEG opened at $10.67 on Friday. Leggett & Platt has a fifty-two week low of $10.11 and a fifty-two week high of $31.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.78 and a 200 day moving average of $17.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.20 and a beta of 1.08.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.01). Leggett & Platt had a positive return on equity of 11.31% and a negative net margin of 3.44%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Leggett & Platt will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Leggett & Platt Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Leggett & Platt’s payout ratio is -17.24%.

Insider Transactions at Leggett & Platt

In other Leggett & Platt news, CFO Benjamin Michael Burns bought 3,850 shares of Leggett & Platt stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.20 per share, for a total transaction of $46,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,362 shares in the company, valued at $992,616.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Benjamin Michael Burns bought 3,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.20 per share, for a total transaction of $46,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $992,616.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Blinn purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.74 per share, for a total transaction of $64,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 32,302 shares in the company, valued at $346,923.48. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 65,635 shares of company stock valued at $773,447. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leggett & Platt

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 240,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,911 shares during the last quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Leggett & Platt in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Leggett & Platt by 332.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 233,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,941,000 after purchasing an additional 179,734 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt by 97.6% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 44,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 21,904 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 0.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,946,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,983,000 after purchasing an additional 117,499 shares during the last quarter. 64.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.