Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) Trading Down 5% – Should You Sell?

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) shares traded down 5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $12.34 and last traded at $12.41. 541,142 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 2,320,350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Leggett & Platt from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Leggett & Platt from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Leggett & Platt from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.67.

Leggett & Platt Trading Down 5.4 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $12.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.58 and a beta of 1.07.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29. Leggett & Platt had a negative net margin of 18.05% and a positive return on equity of 12.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Equities analysts expect that Leggett & Platt, Incorporated will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Leggett & Platt Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Leggett & Platt’s dividend payout ratio is currently -17.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leggett & Platt

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Leggett & Platt by 426.2% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,042,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,923,000 after buying an additional 11,373,507 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,996,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,107,000 after purchasing an additional 49,086 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 1,098.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,005,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838,009 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,284,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,601,000 after purchasing an additional 12,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 658,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,542,000 after purchasing an additional 155,860 shares in the last quarter. 64.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leggett & Platt Company Profile

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.