Legato Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG)

Key Points

• Legato Capital Management LLC increased its shareholding in Leggett & Platt by 149.6%, acquiring an additional 42,988 shares, bringing its total ownership to 71,724 shares valued at approximately $567,000.
• Institutional investors collectively own 64.23% of Leggett & Platt's stock, with notable increases in shareholdings from firms such as Vanguard Group, AQR Capital Management, and Invenomic Capital Management.
• Analysts have varied ratings for Leggett & Platt, with Wall Street Zen upgrading to a "buy" rating while Piper Sandler maintained a "neutral" rating with a price objective decrease from $12.00 to $9.00.

Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG - Free Report) by 149.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,724 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 42,988 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC owned 0.05% of Leggett & Platt worth $567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LEG. Readystate Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 44.5% during the 1st quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 378,785 shares of the company's stock worth $2,996,000 after purchasing an additional 116,668 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt during the first quarter worth $990,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 137.1% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 357,549 shares of the company's stock worth $2,828,000 after buying an additional 206,755 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council boosted its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 42.6% during the 1st quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 707,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,595,000 after acquiring an additional 211,270 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Leggett & Platt during the 1st quarter valued at about $165,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEG has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Leggett & Platt from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Leggett & Platt from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $9.00 price target (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Leggett & Platt in a research report on Friday, April 11th.

Leggett & Platt Stock Performance

Shares of LEG stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $10.13. 237,381 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,529,177. The company has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.71 and a beta of 0.74. The company's 50 day moving average is $9.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.12. 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 2.59, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. Leggett & Platt had a positive return on equity of 20.46% and a negative net margin of 11.89%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Leggett & Platt, Incorporated will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leggett & Platt Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Leggett & Platt's dividend payout ratio is presently -5.35%.

Leggett & Platt Company 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.