Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) Short Interest Update

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,080,000 shares, an increase of 42.8% from the February 28th total of 7,760,000 shares. Approximately 8.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,410,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt in the 4th quarter worth approximately $666,000. PEAK6 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Leggett & Platt in the third quarter worth $1,067,000. Amundi increased its position in Leggett & Platt by 90.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 82,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $814,000 after acquiring an additional 39,324 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the fourth quarter valued at $771,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 649.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 97,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,330,000 after acquiring an additional 84,645 shares during the last quarter. 64.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leggett & Platt Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of Leggett & Platt stock traded down $0.22 on Friday, reaching $7.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,528,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,428,979. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.14 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70. Leggett & Platt has a 52 week low of $7.92 and a 52 week high of $19.33. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.99.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Leggett & Platt had a negative net margin of 11.67% and a positive return on equity of 17.09%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Leggett & Platt will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Leggett & Platt Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leggett & Platt’s dividend payout ratio is presently -5.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LEG. Truist Financial cut their target price 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 cut their price objective on shares of Leggett & Platt from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th.

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.