Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) to Issue $0.77 Quarterly Dividend

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 16th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.77 per share by the auto parts company on Tuesday, June 25th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th.

Lear has increased its dividend payment by an average of 44.5% per year over the last three years. Lear has a dividend payout ratio of 17.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Lear to earn $18.69 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.5%.

Lear Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE LEA traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $130.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 455,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,300. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.50. The stock has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.33. Lear has a 12 month low of $121.38 and a 12 month high of $157.90.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.14. Lear had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 2.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Lear will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total transaction of $387,227.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,465,019.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Lear from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised Lear from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lear from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lear currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $161.44.

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.