Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) has an average analyst rating of "Hold", with eight analysts recommending a hold and three a buy, while the average price target is $112.70.
• Recent insider trading includes CEO Raymond E. Scott selling 5,000 shares, reducing his ownership by 11.43%, while institutional investors increased their stake significantly in the company.
• Lear reported earnings of $3.47 per share, exceeding estimates of $3.23, and will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.77 on September 23rd, 2023.

Shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $112.70.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Lear from $123.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $123.00 in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Lear from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Lear from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th.

Insider Activity at Lear

In related news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.77, for a total transaction of $483,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 38,729 shares in the company, valued at $3,747,805.33. The trade was a 11.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,187 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.86, for a total value of $110,224.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 84 shares in the company, valued at $7,800.24. This represents a 93.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,187 shares of company stock valued at $1,086,425. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Lear by 75.6% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,801,284 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $171,086,000 after purchasing an additional 775,476 shares during the last quarter. Oldfield Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the 1st quarter valued at $53,799,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 78.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,269,500 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $120,577,000 after acquiring an additional 558,538 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lear in the second quarter worth $48,468,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lear by 483.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 567,335 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $49,625,000 after acquiring an additional 470,096 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lear Stock Up 0.8%

Lear stock opened at $109.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Lear has a 1-year low of $73.85 and a 1-year high of $115.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.34.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.89 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 2.05%.The business's quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.60 earnings per share. Lear has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts predict that Lear will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Lear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.94%.

About Lear

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.

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