Lear (NYSE:LEA) Stock Rating Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lear (NYSE:LEA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $131.00 price objective on shares of Lear in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Lear from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 target price (down from $175.00) on shares of Lear in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lear from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Lear from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.58.

Lear Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Lear stock opened at $119.99 on Friday. Lear has a 52-week low of $98.79 and a 52-week high of $150.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $123.49 and a 200 day moving average of $130.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.29.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The auto parts company reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.30. Lear had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lear will post 14.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 24th that authorizes the company to buy back $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto parts company to buy up to 25.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 2nd. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.35, for a total transaction of $199,742.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 37 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,489.95. The trade was a 97.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Lear by 139.6% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,495 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in Lear by 5,313.3% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,624 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,594 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lear in the third quarter valued at $3,123,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the 3rd quarter worth $11,911,000. Finally, Curated Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the 3rd quarter worth $260,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Lear News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: WallStreetZen upgraded its rating on Lear Corporation (LEA), potentially improving sentiment toward the auto-parts supplier. The upgrade comes as Lear trades at a relatively low valuation, with a trailing P/E near 11, and follows its latest quarterly earnings beat and 3% year-over-year revenue growth. Lear Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen
• Neutral Sentiment: The other articles concern Elon Musk, personal-finance advice, music, retirement costs, a webinar, and DarkPulse; they do not provide material news about Lear’s operations, customers, earnings, or industry outlook. Lear’s shares remain below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, suggesting that the rating upgrade has not yet clearly changed the broader technical trend.

Lear Company Profile

Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA) is a global automotive technology supplier that designs and manufactures products used by vehicle manufacturers worldwide. The company’s principal business areas are seating systems and e-systems, which support the functionality, comfort, safety and connectivity of modern vehicles.

Lear’s seating business provides complete seating systems and related components, including seat structures, mechanisms, foam, trim, covers and comfort technologies. Its e-systems business develops electrical distribution systems, connection systems, electronic components and software-enabled technologies that help manage power, data and connectivity within vehicles.

Founded in 1917 and headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, Lear serves automotive manufacturers through operations and facilities across major vehicle-producing regions, including North America, Europe and Asia.