Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) Short Interest Down 21.7% in March

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 555.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,629 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt by 74.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 7,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 461.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 7,963 shares during the period. 64.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price objective (down from $12.00) on shares of Leggett & Platt in a research report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Leggett & Platt from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Leggett & Platt Stock Performance

Shares of LEG traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $6.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,421,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,507,181. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.31. The firm has a market cap of $923.87 million, a PE ratio of -1.84 and a beta of 0.98. Leggett & Platt has a one year low of $6.48 and a one year high of $18.49.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.21. Leggett & Platt had a negative net margin of 11.67% and a positive return on equity of 17.09%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leggett & Platt will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Leggett & Platt Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. 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.