Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $143.0769.

LEA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Lear in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Lear from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $130.00 target price on Lear in a report on Monday, May 4th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.50, for a total transaction of $737,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,953,047.50. The trade was a 27.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Nicholas Jon Roelli sold 2,336 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.38, for a total transaction of $330,263.68. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 12,026 shares of company stock valued at $1,729,748 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LEA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lear by 3.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,943,480 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $356,380,000 after acquiring an additional 107,678 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,830,466 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $212,938,000 after acquiring an additional 5,409 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Lear by 23.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,569,341 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $157,891,000 after purchasing an additional 299,841 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position 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 worth $109,054,000 after purchasing an additional 949,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Lear by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 791,293 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $90,682,000 after purchasing an additional 57,206 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lear presented at the Wolfe Research Autos and Mobility Conference, which may have encouraged buying if management reinforced its outlook on auto production, margins, or free cash flow. Lear Corporation (LEA) Presents at Wolfe Research Autos and Mobility Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market commentary in the feed does not appear directly related to Lear’s fundamentals, so it is unlikely to be a meaningful driver of LEA shares today.
• Neutral Sentiment: Lear’s recent quarterly results already showed strength, with earnings beating estimates and revenue growing year over year, which may be helping investors stay optimistic about the stock.

Lear Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $140.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.23. Lear has a 52-week low of $89.29 and a 52-week high of $150.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The auto parts company reported $3.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Lear will post 14.61 EPS for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.80%.

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.