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

StockNews.com cut shares of Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday.

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

Leggett & Platt Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE LEG opened at $10.67 on Friday. Leggett & Platt has a 12 month low of $10.11 and a 12 month high of $31.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of -9.20 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Leggett & Platt Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Karl G. Glassman purchased 23,800 shares of Leggett & Platt stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.48 per share, with a total value of $273,224.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,151,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,223,708.68. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Benjamin Michael Burns bought 3,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.20 per share, with a total value of $46,970.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 81,362 shares in the company, valued at $992,616.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Karl G. Glassman purchased 23,800 shares of Leggett & Platt stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.48 per share, with a total value of $273,224.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,151,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,223,708.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 65,635 shares of company stock worth $773,447 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 253.3% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt by 93.2% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Leggett & Platt during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Leggett & Platt in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 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.