Lear (NYSE:LEA) Price Target Cut to $131.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Lear (NYSE:LEA) had its price objective cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $132.00 to $131.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the auto parts company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Lear from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Barclays reduced their price target on Lear from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Lear from $136.00 to $128.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lear from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lear presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $157.70.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA stock opened at $121.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Lear has a 52-week low of $112.26 and a 52-week high of $157.90.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 2.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Lear will post 13.61 EPS for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Lear’s payout ratio is currently 33.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Lear during the first quarter worth $29,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Lear during the first quarter worth $32,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Lear by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Lear during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Lear during the first quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.