Lear (NYSE:LEA) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Lear (NYSE:LEA) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Lear from $146.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Lear from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore increased their price target on Lear from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lear in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lear from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.10.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEA traded down $0.35 during trading on Monday, reaching $138.90. 42,936 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 562,205. Lear has a 12 month low of $73.85 and a 12 month high of $141.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $119.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The auto parts company reported $3.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.74. Lear had a return on equity of 13.40% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Lear will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Lear’s payout ratio is presently 37.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of Lear stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total transaction of $590,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,801,383.48. The trade was a 24.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lear

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,784,110 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $280,106,000 after acquiring an additional 57,443 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Lear by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,825,057 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $182,688,000 after purchasing an additional 23,773 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Lear by 23.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,569,341 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $157,891,000 after purchasing an additional 299,841 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 46,707.8% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 951,602 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $109,054,000 after purchasing an additional 949,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 20.6% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 734,087 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $73,856,000 after purchasing an additional 125,422 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

About Lear

Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA) is a global supplier of automotive seating and electrical distribution systems. The company designs, engineers and manufactures complete seat systems, seat components and power solutions for major vehicle manufacturers. Its electrical business delivers modules and components for battery management, infotainment, body and safety electronics, as well as advanced connectivity and electrification solutions.

The seating division develops lightweight, ergonomic seat structures, trim and mechanisms that address comfort, safety and environmental targets.