Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) Sets New 12-Month Low Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $11.02 and last traded at $12.18, with a volume of 3611512 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.07.

The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. Leggett & Platt had a positive return on equity of 10.84% and a negative net margin of 3.44%. Leggett & Platt’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share.

Leggett & Platt Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Leggett & Platt’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -158.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Leggett & Platt from $20.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Leggett & Platt from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Leggett & Platt from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Leggett & Platt from $16.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Leggett & Platt from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leggett & Platt has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.33.

Institutional Trading of Leggett & Platt

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt in the fourth quarter valued at $26,814,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 68.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,934,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,636,000 after buying an additional 786,297 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Leggett & Platt by 329.6% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 834,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,198,000 after purchasing an additional 640,015 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Leggett & Platt by 45.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,699,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,186,000 after purchasing an additional 532,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Leggett & Platt by 675.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 477,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,121,000 after purchasing an additional 415,641 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.23% of the company’s stock.

Leggett & Platt Trading Up 2.6 %

The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.72 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.76 and its 200-day moving average is $22.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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.