JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Lear (NYSE:LEA) Price Target to $179.00

Lear (NYSE:LEA) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $177.00 to $179.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the auto parts company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lear currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $162.44.

Lear Price Performance

LEA opened at $135.15 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $138.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.54. Lear has a 1 year low of $117.79 and a 1 year high of $157.90.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.12 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 2.44%. Lear’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Lear will post 14.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Lear’s payout ratio is 31.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of Lear stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,465,019.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total value of $1,415,224.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,483.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LEA. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Lear by 176.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 15,136 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after buying an additional 9,666 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Lear by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 4.0% in the third quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 17,500 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,348,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the third quarter worth $2,667,000. Finally, Perennial Advisors LLC increased its position in Lear by 4.1% during the third quarter. Perennial Advisors LLC now owns 29,055 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,899,000 after buying an additional 1,133 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

About Lear

Lear Corporation designs, develops, engineers, manufactures, assembles, and supplies automotive seating, and electrical distribution systems and related components for automotive original equipment manufacturers in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. Its Seating segment offers seat systems, seat subsystems, keyseat components, seat trim covers, seat mechanisms, seat foams, and headrests, as well as surface materials, such as leather and fabric for automobiles and light trucks, compact cars, pick-up trucks, and sport utility vehicles.