Brokerages Set Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Target Price at $112.00

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $112.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LEA. TD Cowen lowered Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $88.00 price objective on Lear and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Lear from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered Lear from an “equal weight” rating to a “negative” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.91% 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 the company. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the 1st quarter worth about $737,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the 1st quarter worth about $2,879,000. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Lear by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 40,086 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,536,000 after purchasing an additional 3,575 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the 1st quarter worth about $1,463,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lear by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 540,411 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $47,675,000 after purchasing an additional 149,644 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lear Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:LEA opened at $94.35 on Friday. Lear has a 1 year low of $73.85 and a 1 year high of $133.20. The stock has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $87.20 and a 200-day moving average of $92.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $5.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.47 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Lear will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.11%.

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.