Lear Corporation (LEA) - What Are Brokerages Saying About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analysts are broadly neutral on Lear: 12 of 16 covering analysts rate it Hold, three rate it Buy and one Strong Buy. The average 12-month price target is $143.25, though several brokerages recently cut their targets.
• Lear reported quarterly earnings of $3.71 per share, beating the $3.32 consensus estimate, while revenue of $5.77 billion fell slightly short of expectations. Revenue increased 1.6% year over year.
• The board authorized a $1.5 billion share-repurchase program, and Lear pays an annualized dividend of $3.08 per share, equivalent to a 2.8% yield.

Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $143.25.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $141.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lear from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Lear from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Lear from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jason Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.75, for a total value of $588,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $970,377.75. The trade was a 37.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Lear by 3.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,943,480 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $356,380,000 after purchasing an additional 107,678 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Lear in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,397,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Lear by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 473,528 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $55,916,000 after buying an additional 7,200 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Lear by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 176,084 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $21,320,000 after buying an additional 39,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Lear by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 151,156 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $18,302,000 after buying an additional 18,990 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Lear Stock Performance

NYSE LEA opened at $109.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.18. Lear has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $150.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.09.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.39. Lear had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.79 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Lear will post 15.15 EPS for the current year.

Lear announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto parts company to buy up to 25.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Lear's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.90%.

About Lear

Lear Corporation is a global automotive technology supplier that designs and manufactures products for vehicle seating and electrical systems. Its customers include automakers around the world, and its products are used in a range of vehicle types. The company's seating business provides complete seating systems and components, including seat structures, mechanisms, foam and trim. Its E-Systems business develops electrical distribution systems, connectivity solutions and electronic components that help manage power and data within vehicles.

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