Short Interest in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) Rises By 42.8%

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) saw a large 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. Currently, 8.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,410,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LEG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Leggett & Platt from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial dropped 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.

Leggett & Platt Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEG traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $7.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,702,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,429,860. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.10 and a beta of 1.11. Leggett & Platt has a one year low of $7.74 and a one year high of $19.33. 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 50 day moving average price of $9.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.93.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during 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, equities research analysts expect that Leggett & Platt will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Leggett & Platt Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. Leggett & Platt’s dividend payout ratio is currently -5.36%.

Institutional Trading of Leggett & Platt

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Leggett & Platt during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 555.8% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,629 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt during the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. 64.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Leggett & Platt

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.