Lear (NYSE:LEA) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

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

LEA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Lear from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lear from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $160.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lear from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Lear from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $160.00.

Lear Stock Performance

NYSE LEA opened at $113.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $125.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.14. Lear has a 1 year low of $112.55 and a 1 year high of $157.90. The firm has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.51.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued 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 the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $2.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lear will post 14.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 6th. Lear’s payout ratio is currently 33.59%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Lear news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $159,174.90. 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

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LEA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Lear by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,023,195 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $872,640,000 after acquiring an additional 109,746 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lear by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,179,175 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $307,721,000 after buying an additional 153,282 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Lear by 13.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP increased its holdings in Lear by 55.4% in the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 1,067,888 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $150,796,000 after buying an additional 380,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in Lear by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,023,165 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $148,216,000 after buying an additional 41,496 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

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.