Short Interest in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) Drops By 24.9%

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,670,000 shares, a decline of 24.9% from the October 15th total of 6,220,000 shares. Approximately 3.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,570,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised shares of Leggett & Platt from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leggett & Platt from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Leggett & Platt from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Leggett & Platt currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.67.

Leggett & Platt Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of LEG stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $11.82. 1,245,044 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,774,191. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $12.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.32. The company has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.97 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13. Leggett & Platt has a 12 month low of $10.11 and a 12 month high of $27.58.

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

Leggett & Platt Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Leggett & Platt’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -3.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEG. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 426.2% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,042,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,923,000 after acquiring an additional 11,373,507 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Leggett & Platt by 1,098.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,005,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838,009 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Leggett & Platt during the 3rd quarter valued at about $15,735,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 384.1% in the third quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 921,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,550,000 after buying an additional 731,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt by 3,264.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 692,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,437,000 after buying an additional 672,290 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.23% of the company’s stock.

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.