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

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

LEA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Lear from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Lear from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $160.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lear presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $161.63.

Lear Price Performance

Lear stock opened at $114.10 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Lear has a 52-week low of $112.55 and a 52-week high of $157.90. The firm has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s 50 day moving average is $124.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.00.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.14. Lear had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 2.28%. The business had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Lear will post 14.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 6th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.59%.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total value of $296,273.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Lear news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of Lear stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total value of $296,273.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $159,174.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Lear in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Lear in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lear during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Lear during the first quarter worth about $62,000. 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.