Leggett & Platt Stock Drops 10% on Weak Earnings, Dividend Cut Worries
Shares of Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG) were down 9.3% as of 3:04 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, having spent most of the afternoon down almost 10%. Today's big sell-off is the result of the company reporting a tough first quarter that could force it to cut its dividend.
This would be a painful move for the bedding and flooring products manufacturer, a Dividend Aristocrat that's paid and increased its dividend for 48 straight years.
Leggett & Platt reported a 9% decline in sales and a 24% drop in earnings per share in the first quarter, but the bigger worry is how much sales fell late in the quarter. In the earnings release, the company said revenue fell sharply in the last two weeks of March, stabilizing at 55% of 2019 levels. Moreover, those substantially lower numbers have held steady in the second quarter.
Source Fool.com
