Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

LEG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Leggett & Platt from $20.00 to $14.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Leggett & Platt from $16.00 to $13.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Leggett & Platt from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Leggett & Platt from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $12.67.

Leggett & Platt Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of LEG stock opened at $11.42 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.52. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.84 and a beta of 1.08. Leggett & Platt has a 1-year low of $10.11 and a 1-year high of $31.14. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. Leggett & Platt had a positive return on equity of 11.31% and a negative net margin of 3.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Leggett & Platt will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Leggett & Platt Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Leggett & Platt’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -17.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Leggett & Platt

In other Leggett & Platt news, CFO Benjamin Michael Burns bought 3,850 shares of Leggett & Platt stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.20 per share, for a total transaction of $46,970.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 81,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $992,616.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Leggett & Platt news, EVP Ryan Michael Kleiboeker bought 10,000 shares of Leggett & Platt stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.39 per share, for a total transaction of $133,900.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 41,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,153.65. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Benjamin Michael Burns bought 3,850 shares of Leggett & Platt stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.20 per share, with a total value of $46,970.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 81,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $992,616.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 65,635 shares of company stock valued at $773,447 over the last 90 days. 1.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leggett & Platt

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEG. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Leggett & Platt during the third quarter worth $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Leggett & Platt by 253.3% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Leggett & Platt by 93.2% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Leggett & Platt during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Leggett & Platt during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 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.