Lear (NYSE:LEA) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $144.10 and last traded at $143.32, with a volume of 17356 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $139.80.

Lear News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lear’s most recent quarterly results were better than expected, with EPS of $3.87 beating estimates and revenue rising 4.7% year over year. That reinforces confidence in the auto parts maker’s fundamentals and helps support the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share, signaling ongoing cash generation and shareholder returns.
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen upgraded Lear from hold to buy and raised its price target to $165, which may be adding to bullish sentiment.
• Neutral Sentiment: SVP Nicholas Jon Roelli sold 2,336 shares at an average price of $141.38, trimming his stake by about 50%. The sale is relatively small in the context of Lear’s market capitalization, so it may be seen as routine rather than a major warning sign. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Several other headlines in the feed were unrelated education and learning articles, and do not appear to have a meaningful impact on LEA shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Lear to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. TD Cowen raised shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $138.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lear from $152.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $133.00 price target on shares of Lear in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Lear from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.08.

Lear Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $127.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.04. The firm has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The auto parts company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.36. Lear had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The firm had revenue of $5.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. Lear’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Lear Corporation will post 14.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In related news, SVP Nicholas Jon Roelli sold 2,336 shares of Lear stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.38, for a total transaction of $330,263.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $330,687.82. The trade was a 49.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LEA. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. WealthCollab LLC purchased a new position in Lear in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lear in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Lear by 62.6% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 309 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Lear by 942.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. 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.