Lear (NYSE:LEA – Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday.
A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LEA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.44.
Lear Trading Up 1.0 %
Shares of NYSE:LEA traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $134.18. 500,774 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 525,350. The stock has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.54. Lear has a fifty-two week low of $117.79 and a fifty-two week high of $157.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.04.
Lear (NYSE:LEA – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12 by ($0.09). Lear had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The company had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.81 earnings per share. Lear’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lear will post 14.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Transactions at Lear
In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total transaction of $1,415,224.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total transaction of $1,415,224.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,465,019.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lear in the fourth quarter valued at $79,611,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Lear by 970.4% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 540,850 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $76,373,000 after purchasing an additional 490,324 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Lear by 236.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 577,690 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $77,526,000 after buying an additional 405,875 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in Lear by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 981,669 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $138,595,000 after buying an additional 391,949 shares during the period. Finally, Lyrical Asset Management LP lifted its stake in Lear by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 1,067,888 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $150,796,000 after buying an additional 380,771 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is 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.