Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $145.09.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lear from $131.00 to $114.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Lear from $136.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Lear from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $132.00 price target on shares of Lear in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grimes & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lear during the 1st quarter worth about $5,847,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Lear during the first quarter worth approximately $1,984,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Lear by 1.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 307,383 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $44,534,000 after purchasing an additional 5,584 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in Lear by 196.7% during the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 319,156 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $46,239,000 after purchasing an additional 211,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in Lear by 35.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 54,995 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $7,953,000 after purchasing an additional 14,305 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of LEA stock opened at $105.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.79. The company has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.44. Lear has a twelve month low of $101.67 and a twelve month high of $147.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.26. Lear had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lear will post 12.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.59%.

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.