Earnings Preview: Leggett & Platt

Leggett & Platt (LEG) is expected to report Q2 earnings Thursday, July 17th after the market close with a conference call scheduled for Friday at 9:00 am ET.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for a profit of 27c on revenue of $1.07B. The consensus range is 25c to 29c for EPS, and revenue of $1.04B to $1.1B, according to First Call. In April, the company forecast FY09 EPS $1.00 to $1.30 vs. First Call consensus of $1.09 and FY08 revenue $3.2B vs. First Call consensus of $4.2B.

Analyst Views

A Raymond James analyst commented that shares are poised to bounce back after falling sharply since the beginning of the year. The analyst said that while still in its early stages, Leggett's strategic makeover "will almost certainly bear fruit." Investors are likely to benefit from $400M in divestitures in 2008 that will likely fund share buybacks. On May 8, Leggett & Platt's Board of Directors declared a 25c per share dividend for Q2, which represents a 39% increase over last year's Q2 dividend.