Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 32,661 Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased 32,661 shares of Leggett & Platt, valued at approximately $258,000, in the first quarter.
• Analysts have lowered the price target for Leggett & Platt, with Goldman Sachs setting it at $9.00 and Piper Sandler reducing it from $10.00 to $9.00.
• Leggett & Platt announced a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th, representing an annual yield of 2.3%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 32,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the fourth quarter worth $575,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 1,517,156 shares of the company's stock worth $14,565,000 after buying an additional 595,684 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 16.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 57,580 shares of the company's stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 8,260 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma purchased a new position in Leggett & Platt during the first quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 141.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 115,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 67,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEG has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Leggett & Platt from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $9.00 price target (down from $10.00) on shares of Leggett & Platt in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Leggett & Platt from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Leggett & Platt Stock Up 5.4%

NYSE LEG traded up $0.49 on Wednesday, hitting $9.46. 422,876 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,510,135. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $6.47 and a fifty-two week high of $14.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $9.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.00. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Leggett & Platt had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 19.42%. The company's revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Leggett & Platt, Incorporated will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leggett & Platt Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Leggett & Platt's dividend payout ratio is 19.42%.

Leggett & Platt Profile

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.