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 position in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG - Free Report) by 15.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,385,483 shares of the company's stock after selling 246,669 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 1.03% of Leggett & Platt worth $10,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Leggett & Platt in the 1st quarter worth approximately $89,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the first quarter valued at $102,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the first quarter worth $107,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt during the first quarter valued at $128,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 13,521 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 2,915 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.23% of the company's stock.

Leggett & Platt Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE LEG traded up $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.53. 1,933,558 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,662,719. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $6.47 and a 12 month high of $14.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09.

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

Leggett & Platt Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LEG shares. Zacks Research downgraded Leggett & Platt from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $9.00 price target (down from $10.00) on shares of Leggett & Platt in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Leggett & Platt from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target 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.