Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $9.44 and last traded at $9.78, with a volume of 3171072 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Leggett & Platt from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $13.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised Leggett & Platt from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.67.

Leggett & Platt Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.62 and a beta of 1.07.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Leggett & Platt had a positive return on equity of 14.99% and a negative net margin of 18.53%. Leggett & Platt’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. Analysts forecast that Leggett & Platt, Incorporated will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Leggett & Platt Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Leggett & Platt’s payout ratio is currently -3.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEG. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Leggett & Platt by 75.5% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 67,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $772,000 after acquiring an additional 29,000 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 11.7% during the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 152,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 15,893 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt by 55.5% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 38,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 13,593 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Leggett & Platt in the second quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Leggett & Platt by 31.0% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 658,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,542,000 after buying an additional 155,860 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.23% of the company’s stock.

About Leggett & Platt

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.