Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Leggett & Platt has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, signaling a cautious outlook on the stock's performance.
• Piper Sandler has set a new price target of $9.00 for Leggett & Platt, down from $12.00, reflecting the stock's recent decline and adjusted expectations.
• The company's stock price has decreased by 15.2%, currently trading at $8.10, with a twelve-month low of $6.47 and a market cap of $1.09 billion.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LEG. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $9.00 price objective (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Leggett & Platt in a research note on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Leggett & Platt from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Leggett & Platt Trading Up 4.6%

LEG stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.45. 3,114,200 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,553,738. Leggett & Platt has a 52-week low of $6.47 and a 52-week high of $14.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.51 and a 200-day moving average of $9.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 0.70.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Leggett & Platt had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 3.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Leggett & Platt will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Leggett & Platt Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Leggett & Platt's payout ratio is currently 19.42%.

Institutional Trading of Leggett & Platt

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEG. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Leggett & Platt in the second quarter valued at $76,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 7,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt in the 1st quarter valued at about $89,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt in the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt in the 4th quarter valued at about $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.23% of the company's stock.

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.