Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) Stock Has Average Price Target of $143.58 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Lear, with 12 hold ratings, three buys and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $143.58, above the reported trading price of $119.99.
• Lear’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $4.28 versus a $3.98 consensus estimate and revenue of $6.21 billion. Revenue increased 3% year over year.
• The company authorized a $1.5 billion share-repurchase program, potentially covering up to 25.7% of outstanding shares, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.77, equivalent to a 2.6% annualized yield.

Shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the sixteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings 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 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $143.58.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LEA shares. Weiss Ratings cut Lear from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Lear from $141.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Lear from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $131.00 price objective on shares of Lear in a research note on Monday, August 3rd.

Insider Activity at Lear

In related news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,646 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.35, for a total value of $199,742.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 37 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,489.95. This trade represents a 97.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 624 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its stake in Lear by 36.5% during the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 303 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Lear by 3.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,260 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Lear by 0.5% in the first quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 17,404 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,107,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Lear by 15.6% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 844 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Lear Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:LEA traded down $1.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $119.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 479,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 598,632. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.31. Lear has a fifty-two week low of $98.79 and a fifty-two week high of $150.33. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $123.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.45. The company has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.29.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The auto parts company reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.30. Lear had a return on equity of 14.18% and a net margin of 2.35%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.06 earnings per share. Lear's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lear will post 14.86 EPS for the current year.

Lear announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 24th that authorizes the company to buy back $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto parts company to buy up to 25.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 2nd. Lear's dividend payout ratio is 28.70%.

Lear Company Profile

Lear Corporation NYSE: LEA is a global automotive technology supplier that designs and manufactures products used by vehicle manufacturers worldwide. The company's principal business areas are seating systems and e-systems, which support the functionality, comfort, safety and connectivity of modern vehicles.

Lear's seating business provides complete seating systems and related components, including seat structures, mechanisms, foam, trim, covers and comfort technologies. Its e-systems business develops electrical distribution systems, connection systems, electronic components and software-enabled technologies that help manage power, data and connectivity within vehicles.

Founded in 1917 and headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, Lear serves automotive manufacturers through operations and facilities across major vehicle-producing regions, including North America, Europe and Asia.

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