Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $162.44.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LEA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $1,810,483.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LEA. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Lear in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Lear by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Lear by 131.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 443 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Lear during the fourth quarter worth $75,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lear Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $137.25 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $138.83 and its 200 day moving average is $135.84. Lear has a 1 year low of $117.79 and a 1 year high of $157.90.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.12 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $5.84 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Lear will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.82%.

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.