Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Receives $112.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $112.00.

LEA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Lear in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $123.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lear from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays downgraded shares of Lear from an "equal weight" rating to a "negative" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lear

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lear by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,657,389 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $587,315,000 after buying an additional 165,494 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Lear by 0.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,631,477 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $232,145,000 after acquiring an additional 17,250 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Lear by 6.6% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,358,330 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $208,052,000 after acquiring an additional 145,751 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its stake in Lear by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,842,247 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $174,461,000 after buying an additional 22,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Lear by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,133,186 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $107,313,000 after buying an additional 356,760 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

Lear Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Lear stock traded down $0.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $93.48. 118,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 736,075. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock's fifty day moving average is $87.20 and its 200 day moving average is $92.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.30. Lear has a 1 year low of $73.85 and a 1 year high of $133.20.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.48. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. The business had revenue of $5.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.18 earnings per share. Lear's quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lear will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Lear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.11%.

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.