Lear (NYSE:LEA) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $97.42 and last traded at $97.42, with a volume of 250589 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $99.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $114.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $132.00 target price on shares of Lear in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Lear from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.08.

Lear Stock Down 1.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $108.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 2.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LEA. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Lear during the 1st quarter worth $1,984,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Lear by 1.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 307,383 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $44,534,000 after purchasing an additional 5,584 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in Lear by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 54,995 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $7,953,000 after buying an additional 14,305 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in Lear in the 2nd quarter valued at about $530,000. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Lear by 73.6% during the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 11,754 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,703,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984 shares in the last quarter. 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.