Lear (NYSE:LEA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on LEA. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $116.00 target price (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Lear in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lear from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Lear from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Lear and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays raised 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $113.64.

Lear Trading Down 8.1%

Shares of LEA stock opened at $99.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $96.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.90. Lear has a 1-year low of $73.85 and a 1-year high of $125.09.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.89 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 14.53%. Lear's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Lear will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In related news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,187 shares of Lear stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 93.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lear during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,871,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lear by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,614,227 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $247,566,000 after purchasing an additional 283,838 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Lear by 82.3% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 45,927 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 20,733 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Lear by 88.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,249 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 3,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Lear by 138.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 43,474 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $4,117,000 after purchasing an additional 25,217 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.

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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