Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $123.36.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LEA. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lear by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,491,895 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $614,782,000 after buying an additional 447,835 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,614,227 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $247,566,000 after acquiring an additional 283,838 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Lear by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,212,579 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $209,531,000 after purchasing an additional 498,918 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its stake in Lear by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,842,247 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $174,461,000 after purchasing an additional 22,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Lear by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,264,090 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $137,975,000 after purchasing an additional 247,312 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lear Stock Performance

NYSE LEA opened at $89.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Lear has a fifty-two week low of $86.28 and a fifty-two week high of $146.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.51 and a 200-day moving average of $98.51. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. As a group, analysts predict that Lear will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Lear’s payout ratio is currently 34.45%.

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.