Barclays Lowers Lear (NYSE:LEA) Price Target to $165.00

Lear (NYSE:LEA) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $175.00 to $165.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the auto parts company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lear from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lear from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $160.33.

Lear Price Performance

LEA stock opened at $127.15 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $138.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.56. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Lear has a 12-month low of $117.79 and a 12-month high of $157.90.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Lear will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Lear news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total transaction of $387,227.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,465,019.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of Lear 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 directly owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,483.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Lear during the first quarter valued at approximately $712,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Lear during the 1st quarter worth $62,000. FORA Capital LLC increased its position in Lear by 45.3% in the first quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 12,616 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,828,000 after buying an additional 3,932 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lear by 2.7% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,828 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 6.7% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,180 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. 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.