Lear (NYSE:LEA) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Lear (NYSE:LEA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday morning.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lear has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $162.44.

Lear Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $133.48 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Lear has a 1 year low of $117.79 and a 1 year high of $157.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $138.80 and its 200-day moving average is $135.85.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.12 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.81 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Lear will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Lear’s payout ratio is presently 31.82%.

Insider Activity at Lear

In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total transaction of $1,415,224.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,483.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Lear in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Lear by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Lear in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Lear by 131.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 443 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Lear in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Company Profile

Lear Corporation designs, develops, engineers, manufactures, assembles, and supplies automotive seating, and electrical distribution systems and related components for automotive original equipment manufacturers in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. Its Seating segment offers seat systems, seat subsystems, keyseat components, seat trim covers, seat mechanisms, seat foams, and headrests, as well as surface materials, such as leather and fabric for automobiles and light trucks, compact cars, pick-up trucks, and sport utility vehicles.