Lear (NYSE:LEA) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Lear (NYSE:LEA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on LEA. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Lear from $136.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Lear from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lear from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Lear from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.70.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEA traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $121.31. 696,384 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 659,236. The firm has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.13. Lear has a 12 month low of $112.26 and a 12 month high of $157.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.26. Lear had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 2.28%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lear will post 13.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $159,174.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $159,174.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total value of $296,273.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Lear by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 88,489 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $12,495,000 after buying an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Lear by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,753 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after buying an additional 3,781 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in Lear by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 14,001 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,977,000 after buying an additional 3,186 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Lear by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 873 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Lear by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 755 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lear

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.