StockNews.com Lowers Lear (NYSE:LEA) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Lear (NYSE:LEA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Lear from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Lear from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lear has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $160.33.

Lear Price Performance

LEA stock opened at $129.14 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.49. The stock has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.55. Lear has a 1 year low of $120.48 and a 1 year high of $157.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Lear will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Lear by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,237,016 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $174,382,000 after buying an additional 149,958 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lear in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,356,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Lear in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,316,000. abrdn plc raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 90.1% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 22,432 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,168,000 after purchasing an additional 10,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

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.