Lear (NYSE:LEA) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $97.42 and last traded at $97.42, with a volume of 250589 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $99.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LEA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Lear from $144.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $136.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.08.

Lear Stock Down 1.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $108.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.95. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.44.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.32. Lear had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Lear’s payout ratio is currently 32.39%.

Institutional Trading of Lear

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Lear during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,984,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Lear by 1.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 307,383 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $44,534,000 after buying an additional 5,584 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in Lear by 35.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 54,995 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $7,953,000 after acquiring an additional 14,305 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in Lear during the 2nd quarter worth $530,000. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of Lear by 73.6% during the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 11,754 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,703,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by 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.