Lear (NYSE:LEA) Raised to Strong-Buy at Benchmark

Lear (NYSE:LEA) was upgraded by analysts at Benchmark to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

LEA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Argus upgraded shares of Lear to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Lear from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lear from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays set a $140.00 price target on shares of Lear in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lear from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lear has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.27.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA opened at $134.71 on Thursday. Lear has a 12-month low of $73.85 and a 12-month high of $142.84. 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 company has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.41.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.78 billion. Lear had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 13.40%. Lear’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lear will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated 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 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lear

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Lear by 46,707.8% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 951,602 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $109,054,000 after acquiring an additional 949,569 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of Lear by 75.6% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,801,284 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $171,086,000 after purchasing an additional 775,476 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lear during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,016,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Lear by 78.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,269,500 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $120,577,000 after purchasing an additional 558,538 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Lear in the second quarter worth $39,656,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lear News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage of Lear with a “Buy” recommendation — a formal analyst endorsement that can draw institutional interest and support the share price; this follows Lear’s Feb. 4 quarter where EPS ($3.41) and revenue ($5.99B) both beat consensus, giving the firm momentum. Benchmark initiates coverage of Lear (LEA) with buy recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: AI research commentary (Yann LeCun) highlights that current LLMs still fall short of human-like learning for real-world tasks such as driving — a reminder that timelines for full vehicle autonomy remain uncertain, which keeps the demand curve for some advanced automotive components (and related supplier investments) ambiguous for investors in component suppliers like Lear. Yann LeCun Says LLMs Are ‘Incredibly’ Useful, But AI Still Can’t Learn To Drive A Car Like A 17-Year Old

Lear Company Profile

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.