Lear (NYSE:LEA) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.14 EPS

Lear (NYSE:LEA) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The auto parts company reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.14, Briefing.com reports. Lear had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Lear updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of LEA opened at $126.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $138.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.69. Lear has a 1-year low of $117.79 and a 1-year high of $157.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.33.

Insider Activity at Lear

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

Lear Company Profile

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.