Lear (NYSE:LEA) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

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

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on LEA. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Barclays raised their price target on Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $162.44.

Lear Trading Down 8.2 %

Shares of LEA stock opened at $125.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.84. Lear has a fifty-two week low of $117.79 and a fifty-two week high of $157.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 2.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.81 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Lear will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total value of $1,415,224.72. Following the sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisor Partners II LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 1,921 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 32.3% during 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 period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,152 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Lear by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,975 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in Lear by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 18,393 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,665,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lear

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.