Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) Short Interest Down 24.9% in October

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) saw a large decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,670,000 shares, a decline of 24.9% from the October 15th total of 6,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,570,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Leggett & Platt Price Performance

LEG traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 423,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,278,634. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13. Leggett & Platt has a twelve month low of $10.11 and a twelve month high of $27.58.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Leggett & Platt had a positive return on equity of 14.99% and a negative net margin of 18.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Leggett & Platt will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Leggett & Platt

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEG. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Leggett & Platt by 66.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 70,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 28,149 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Leggett & Platt by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 263,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,042,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Leggett & Platt by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 350,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,719,000 after buying an additional 27,106 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in Leggett & Platt by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 149,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,867,000 after buying an additional 9,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its position in Leggett & Platt by 78.8% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 65,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,264,000 after buying an additional 29,088 shares during the last quarter. 64.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on LEG. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Leggett & Platt from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Leggett & Platt from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Leggett & Platt from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.67.

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.