Short Interest in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) Declines By 21.7%

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,680,000 shares, a decline of 21.7% from the March 15th total of 11,080,000 shares. Currently, 6.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leggett & Platt

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Leggett & Platt in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $666,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Leggett & Platt by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,478,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,593,000 after acquiring an additional 722,024 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 50.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 138,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 46,499 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in Leggett & Platt by 89.0% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 1,177,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,308,000 after purchasing an additional 554,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 39,324 shares in the last quarter. 64.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Leggett & Platt Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEG traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $6.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,110,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,505,595. The firm has a market cap of $929.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.85 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.24. Leggett & Platt has a one year low of $6.48 and a one year high of $18.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 2.00.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Leggett & Platt will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leggett & Platt Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Leggett & Platt’s payout ratio is -5.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LEG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Leggett & Platt from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.00 price target (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Leggett & Platt in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Leggett & Platt from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th.

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.