Lear (NYSE:LEA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Lear Corporation received a rating upgrade from "buy" to "strong-buy" by Wall Street Zen, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.
• Other analysts, such as Bank of America and Goldman Sachs, have issued mixed ratings and reduced price targets for Lear, influencing overall market sentiment.
• Lear's recent financial performance was strong, with reported earnings of $3.47 per share, surpassing estimates, and revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter.

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

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Lear in a research note on Monday, September 29th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $109.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Lear in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.70.

Lear Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of LEA opened at $96.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.32. Lear has a 12-month low of $73.85 and a 12-month high of $113.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $103.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.85.

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

Insider Activity

In other Lear news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 20,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,993,426.68. This represents a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,747,805.33. The trade was a 11.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. F&V Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lear by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC now owns 86,250 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $8,678,000 after purchasing an additional 2,415 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lear in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $591,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Lear by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of Lear by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 70,082 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $6,656,000 after purchasing an additional 8,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Lear by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,307 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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