Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) Stock Price Up 3.9% – Still a Buy?

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG)’s share price traded up 3.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $13.49 and last traded at $13.44. 169,870 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 2,347,283 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Leggett & Platt from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Leggett & Platt from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Leggett & Platt from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Leggett & Platt currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.67.

Leggett & Platt Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.60 and a beta of 1.07.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.29. Leggett & Platt had a negative net margin of 18.05% and a positive return on equity of 12.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Leggett & Platt, Incorporated will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leggett & Platt Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Leggett & Platt’s dividend payout ratio is -17.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leggett & Platt

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Leggett & Platt by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,996,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,107,000 after purchasing an additional 49,086 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 6.6% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 149,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,867,000 after acquiring an additional 9,254 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in Leggett & Platt in the second quarter valued at about $770,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt during the first quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,948,000. 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.