Legal & General Group Plc Takes $3.57 Million Position in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated $LEG

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 305,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,573,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.22% of Leggett & Platt at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Leggett & Platt by 59.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 47,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 17,561 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Leggett & Platt by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 14,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 3.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 454,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,592,000 after purchasing an additional 13,187 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt by 36.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,175,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,298,000 after buying an additional 312,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Leggett & Platt by 113.5% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 109,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $866,000 after acquiring an additional 58,292 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.23% of the company’s stock.

Leggett & Platt Stock Performance

Leggett & Platt stock opened at $9.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $10.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.35. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $8.34 and a fifty-two week high of $13.00.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $999.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $982.86 million. Leggett & Platt had a net margin of 5.64% and a return on equity of 13.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Leggett & Platt, Incorporated will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leggett & Platt Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Leggett & Platt’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on LEG. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Leggett & Platt from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Leggett & Platt from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Leggett & Platt from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Leggett & Platt from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.67.

Leggett & Platt Company Profile

Leggett & Platt, Inc is a diversified manufacturer specializing in the design, engineering and production of a wide range of engineered components and products. The company’s offerings span several end markets, including residential bedding, commercial and residential furniture, automotive seating and interiors, aerospace applications and industrial products. By integrating product design with proprietary manufacturing processes, Leggett & Platt serves as a key supplier to both original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket distributors.

The company’s core product lines include coil springs and support systems for mattresses and furniture, adjustable bed mechanisms, engineered components such as extruded and formed metal products, and specialty foam and bedding products.