Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Holdings in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated $LEG

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) by 50.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,083,983 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 364,544 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Leggett & Platt were worth $10,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LEG. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt by 59.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 47,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 17,561 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Leggett & Platt by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 14,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Leggett & Platt by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 454,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,592,000 after buying an additional 13,187 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Leggett & Platt by 36.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,175,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,298,000 after buying an additional 312,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 113.5% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 109,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $866,000 after buying an additional 58,292 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Leggett & Platt from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Leggett & Platt from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Leggett & Platt from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leggett & Platt presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.33.

Leggett & Platt Stock Performance

Shares of LEG opened at $10.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.33. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.96. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $7.86 and a 1 year high of $13.00.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $918.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $946.79 million. Leggett & Platt had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 5.69%.The firm’s revenue was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Leggett & Platt, Incorporated will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Leggett & Platt Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Leggett & Platt’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.42%.

About Leggett & Platt

Leggett & Platt, Inc is a diversified manufacturer specializing in the design, engineering and production of a wide range of engineered components and products. The company’s offerings span several end markets, including residential bedding, commercial and residential furniture, automotive seating and interiors, aerospace applications and industrial products. By integrating product design with proprietary manufacturing processes, Leggett & Platt serves as a key supplier to both original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket distributors.

The company’s core product lines include coil springs and support systems for mattresses and furniture, adjustable bed mechanisms, engineered components such as extruded and formed metal products, and specialty foam and bedding products.