Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) Short Interest Update

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,190,000 shares, a decrease of 5.5% from the September 15th total of 6,550,000 shares. Currently, 4.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,720,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LEG shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Leggett & Platt from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report 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, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Leggett & Platt from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.67.

Institutional Trading of Leggett & Platt

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 426.2% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,042,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $160,923,000 after purchasing an additional 11,373,507 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 1,098.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,005,408 shares of the company's stock worth $22,160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838,009 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,380,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $4,203,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 1,109.0% in the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 238,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,733,000 after purchasing an additional 218,786 shares in the last quarter. 64.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Leggett & Platt Price Performance

LEG stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $13.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 873,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,338,061. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The company's fifty day moving average is $12.74 and its 200-day moving average is $13.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.60 and a beta of 1.07. Leggett & Platt has a 1 year low of $10.11 and a 1 year high of $27.58.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.29. Leggett & Platt had a positive return on equity of 12.65% and a negative net margin of 18.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.13 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Leggett & Platt will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leggett & Platt Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Leggett & Platt's payout ratio is -17.24%.

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.