Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEAGet Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,560,000 shares, a drop of 20.0% from the December 31st total of 3,200,000 shares. Currently, 4.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 759,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA stock traded down $2.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $94.12. 768,440 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 549,846. Lear has a 52-week low of $90.03 and a 52-week high of $147.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.99.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is 32.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on LEA shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $106.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.18.

View Our Latest Analysis on LEA

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Lear by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 427 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Lear by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 9,957 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $943,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in Lear by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,105 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Lear by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Lear by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,526 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lear

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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.

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