Lear (NYSE:LEA) Upgraded to "Buy" at StockNews.com

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on LEA. Benchmark upped their price target on Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lear has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.44.

Lear Stock Down 8.2 %

NYSE:LEA traded down $11.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $125.92. 2,140,875 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 555,762. Lear has a twelve month low of $117.79 and a twelve month high of $157.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $138.83 and a 200 day moving average of $135.84. The stock has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.54.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.12 by ($0.09). Lear had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 2.44%. The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.81 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Lear will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lear news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total transaction of $387,227.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Lear news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total transaction of $387,227.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total value of $1,415,224.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,483.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lear

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisor Partners II LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 1,921 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,152 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Lear by 4.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,975 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in Lear by 0.5% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 18,393 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $2,665,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.