Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) Short Interest Up 27.6% in February

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 7,760,000 shares, a growth of 27.6% from the February 13th total of 6,080,000 shares. Currently, 5.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Leggett & Platt by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Leggett & Platt by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 7,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Leggett & Platt by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 263,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Leggett & Platt by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 67,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 2,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. 64.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LEG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Leggett & Platt from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Leggett & Platt from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th.

Leggett & Platt Price Performance

LEG stock opened at $8.10 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of -2.17 and a beta of 1.11. Leggett & Platt has a 12-month low of $7.92 and a 12-month high of $19.33. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $9.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.20.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Leggett & Platt had a positive return on equity of 17.09% and a negative net margin of 11.67%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leggett & Platt will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Leggett & Platt Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. Leggett & Platt’s payout ratio is -5.36%.

Leggett & Platt Company Profile

Leggett & Platt, Inc engages in the manufacture and distribution of furniture and engineered components and products among homes, offices, automobiles, and commercial aircraft. It operates through the following segments: Bedding Products, Specialized Products, and Furniture, Flooring & Textile Products.