Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Takes Position in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated $LEG

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 131,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,038,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the first quarter valued at $89,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the first quarter valued at $102,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 13,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,915 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the first quarter valued at $107,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Leggett & Platt during the 1st quarter valued at $128,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.23% of the company’s stock.

Leggett & Platt Stock Performance

Shares of Leggett & Platt stock opened at $9.93 on Friday. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $6.47 and a 52 week high of $14.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 9.64 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. Leggett & Platt had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 3.36%.The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Leggett & Platt has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.200 EPS. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Leggett & Platt’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Leggett & Platt from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.00 price objective (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Leggett & Platt in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Leggett & Platt from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $9.67.

Leggett & Platt 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.