Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $10.26, but opened at $11.00. Leggett & Platt shares last traded at $11.7350, with a volume of 984,988 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler set a $9.00 target price on Leggett & Platt in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Leggett & Platt in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Leggett & Platt in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Leggett & Platt from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Leggett & Platt from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leggett & Platt has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.00.

Leggett & Platt Trading Up 13.7%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.09 and a 200-day moving average of $9.31. The stock has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.15.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE:LEG) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Leggett & Platt had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 16.27%. The business’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Leggett & Platt has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.100 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Leggett & Platt, Incorporated will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Leggett & Platt Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Leggett & Platt’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.42%.

Institutional Trading of Leggett & Platt

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,707,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,119,000 after buying an additional 1,557,459 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 784.7% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,605,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,429,000 after acquiring an additional 4,084,866 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Leggett & Platt by 35.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,380,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,158,000 after acquiring an additional 890,577 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Leggett & Platt by 47.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,175,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Leggett & Platt by 44.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 2,344,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,817,000 after acquiring an additional 717,079 shares in the last quarter. 64.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.