Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 7,760,000 shares, a growth of 27.6% from the February 13th total of 6,080,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days. Currently, 5.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leggett & Platt

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LEG. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Leggett & Platt in the 3rd quarter worth about $456,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 4,511,800.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 45,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 45,118 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $210,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $302,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $369,000. 64.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on LEG. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Leggett & Platt from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Leggett & Platt from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th.

Leggett & Platt Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:LEG traded up $0.03 on Tuesday, hitting $8.10. 2,044,231 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,213,305. Leggett & Platt has a 52 week low of $7.92 and a 52 week high of $19.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.23. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of -2.17 and a beta of 1.11.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.21. Leggett & Platt had a positive return on equity of 17.09% and a negative net margin of 11.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Leggett & Platt will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Leggett & Platt Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Leggett & Platt’s payout ratio is presently -5.36%.

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.