Lear (NYSE:LEA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear (NYSE:LEA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

LEA has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $132.00 price target on shares of Lear in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Lear from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Lear from $144.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.25.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of LEA stock opened at $96.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.46. Lear has a 12 month low of $94.29 and a 12 month high of $147.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $103.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.15.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.32. Lear had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.87 earnings per share. Lear’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lear will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Lear during the first quarter worth $1,984,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 35.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 54,995 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $7,953,000 after acquiring an additional 14,305 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in Lear in the 2nd quarter valued at about $530,000. Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its position in Lear by 73.6% during the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 11,754 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,703,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 4.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,023,165 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $148,216,000 after purchasing an additional 41,496 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.