S&P drops Leggett & Platt

Standard & Poor's said it lowered its ratings on Leggett & Platt Inc., including lowering the long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings by one notch to A- from A.

At the same time, the agency said it lowered the company's short-term and commercial paper ratings to A-2 from A-1.

The outlook is negative.

"The downgrade reflects its determination that Leggett & Platt's credit measures are unlikely to return to levels previously expected for the A rating, amid weak market conditions and financial policies that include a high dividend payout and share repurchases," said S&P credit analyst Gregoire Buet.

"The negative outlook incorporates its expectation that, despite a more cautious execution of share buyback expected in 2009, cash flow protection could remain stretched for its expectations."

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.