Lear (NYSE:LEA) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America has downgraded Lear Corporation from a "buy" to a "neutral" rating, setting a price objective of $123.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.57% from the current stock price.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts like Citigroup have raised their price target for Lear from $123.00 to $136.00, maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Insider trading reported significant sales, with CEO Raymond E. Scott and CFO Jason M. Cardew both selling 5,000 shares each, indicating a decrease in their respective positions by 11.43% and 19.81%.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $123.00 price objective on the auto parts company's stock. Bank of America's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.57% from the stock's current price.

LEA has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Lear from $123.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $102.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lear from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lear presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.70.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA stock opened at $111.24 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $103.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.33. Lear has a one year low of $73.85 and a one year high of $115.47.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.89 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.05% and a return on equity of 13.94%. Lear's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.60 EPS. Lear has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lear will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.77, for a total value of $483,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 38,729 shares in the company, valued at $3,747,805.33. This represents a 11.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.47, for a total transaction of $492,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 20,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,993,426.68. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,187 shares of company stock worth $1,086,425 in the last quarter. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in Lear during the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Lear by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 25,179 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $2,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Lear by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 89,684 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $8,493,000 after purchasing an additional 6,610 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Lear by 394.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 244,273 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $23,133,000 after purchasing an additional 194,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lear during the fourth quarter worth approximately $683,000. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

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.

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