Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $138.00.

A number of brokerages have commented on LEA. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Lear from $146.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus raised Lear to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Bank of America began coverage on Lear in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on Lear from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $140.00 target price on Lear in a report on Thursday, February 5th.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other Lear news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.51, for a total value of $1,345,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,058,891.91. This trade represents a 30.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Harry Albert Kemp sold 7,000 shares of Lear stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.31, for a total transaction of $954,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 17,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,374,929.13. This trade represents a 28.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 25,264 shares of company stock worth $3,400,687 over the last quarter. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEA. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Lear by 46,707.8% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 951,602 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $109,054,000 after buying an additional 949,569 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lear during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,016,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Lear in the second quarter worth approximately $39,656,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new position in Lear in the third quarter worth approximately $40,984,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Lear by 23.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,569,341 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $157,891,000 after acquiring an additional 299,841 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $116.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.26. Lear has a 52-week low of $73.85 and a 52-week high of $142.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $125.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.52.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The auto parts company reported $3.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.74. Lear had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 13.40%. The company had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. Lear’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Lear will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Lear’s payout ratio is currently 37.79%.

Lear Company Profile

Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA) is a global supplier of automotive seating and electrical distribution systems. The company designs, engineers and manufactures complete seat systems, seat components and power solutions for major vehicle manufacturers. Its electrical business delivers modules and components for battery management, infotainment, body and safety electronics, as well as advanced connectivity and electrification solutions.

The seating division develops lightweight, ergonomic seat structures, trim and mechanisms that address comfort, safety and environmental targets.