AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 246,669 Shares of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated $LEG

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Leggett & Platt by 15.1%, selling 246,669 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with approximately 1.03% ownership worth $10.82 million.
• Leggett & Platt's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting an EPS of $0.30, slightly above the consensus estimate of $0.29, despite a 6.3% revenue decline year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, reflecting a 2.0% dividend yield, which will be paid on October 15th to shareholders on record as of September 15th.

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG - Free Report) by 15.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,385,483 shares of the company's stock after selling 246,669 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.03% of Leggett & Platt worth $10,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LEG. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the 1st quarter worth about $89,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the 1st quarter worth about $102,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the 1st quarter worth about $107,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the 1st quarter worth about $128,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 13,521 shares of the company's stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 2,915 shares during the period. 64.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Leggett & Platt Stock Performance

Shares of Leggett & Platt stock opened at $10.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 0.70. The firm's 50-day moving average is $9.59 and its 200 day moving average is $8.92. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $6.47 and a 1 year high of $14.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. Leggett & Platt had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 19.42%. Leggett & Platt's revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. Leggett & Platt has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.200 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Leggett & Platt, Incorporated will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leggett & Platt Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Leggett & Platt's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LEG. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Leggett & Platt from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $9.00 target price (down from $10.00) on shares of Leggett & Platt in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Leggett & Platt from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $9.67.

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.

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