Lear (NYSE:LEA) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

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

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lear has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $162.44.

Lear Price Performance

NYSE:LEA opened at $125.92 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 cap of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $138.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.84. Lear has a 1-year low of $117.79 and a 1-year high of $157.90.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 14.09%. Lear’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Lear will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.82%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LEA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lear in the fourth quarter valued at about $79,611,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Lear by 970.4% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 540,850 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $76,373,000 after buying an additional 490,324 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Lear by 236.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 577,690 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $77,526,000 after buying an additional 405,875 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Lear by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 981,669 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $138,595,000 after purchasing an additional 391,949 shares during the period. Finally, Lyrical Asset Management LP increased its stake in Lear by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 1,067,888 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $150,796,000 after purchasing an additional 380,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

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.