Prudential Financial Inc. Buys 269,347 Shares of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated $LEG

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) by 202.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 402,232 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 269,347 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.30% of Leggett & Platt worth $3,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Leggett & Platt during the second quarter worth $76,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leggett & Platt during the 2nd quarter worth about $89,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leggett & Platt in the 2nd quarter valued at about $97,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leggett & Platt by 344.5% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 11,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 8,581 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Leggett & Platt in the 2nd quarter valued at about $100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.23% of the company’s stock.

Leggett & Platt Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE LEG opened at $11.62 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $6.47 and a 1 year high of $12.73. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Leggett & Platt Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler set a $9.00 target price on Leggett & Platt in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Leggett & Platt in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of Leggett & Platt in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised Leggett & Platt from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.00.

About Leggett & Platt

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.