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

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 11,370,231 shares, a growth of 20.7% from the March 31st total of 9,423,543 shares. Currently, 8.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,688,632 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on LEG. Weiss Ratings cut Leggett & Platt from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Leggett & Platt from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $11.67.

Leggett & Platt Price Performance

Shares of LEG opened at $10.90 on Friday. Leggett & Platt has a 12-month low of $7.86 and a 12-month high of $13.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $10.69 and its 200 day moving average is $10.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 0.75.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Leggett & Platt had a return on equity of 15.00% and a net margin of 5.80%.The company had revenue of $938.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $938.74 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.21 EPS. Leggett & Platt’s quarterly revenue was down 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Leggett & Platt will post 1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leggett & Platt Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Leggett & Platt’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leggett & Platt

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 60,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 14,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 76,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. 64.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leggett & Platt Company Profile

Leggett & Platt, Inc is a diversified manufacturer specializing in the design, engineering and production of a wide range of engineered components and products. The company’s offerings span several end markets, including residential bedding, commercial and residential furniture, automotive seating and interiors, aerospace applications and industrial products. By integrating product design with proprietary manufacturing processes, Leggett & Platt serves as a key supplier to both original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket distributors.

The company’s core product lines include coil springs and support systems for mattresses and furniture, adjustable bed mechanisms, engineered components such as extruded and formed metal products, and specialty foam and bedding products.