Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in Lear Corporation grew by 22.3% in August, reaching a total of 2,360,000 shares, which is approximately 4.5% of the company's total shares.
• Recent stock sales by CEO Raymond E. Scott and CFO Jason M. Cardew indicate a significant decrease in their ownership, with Scott decreasing his position by 11.43% and Cardew by 19.81%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Lear's stock, with three analysts giving it a "Buy" rating and eight a "Hold" rating, while the average price target stands at $112.70.

Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,360,000 shares, an increase of 22.3% from the August 15th total of 1,930,000 shares. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 653,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 653,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.77, for a total transaction of $483,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 38,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,747,805.33. The trade was a 11.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 $1,993,426.68. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lear by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,657,389 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $587,315,000 after acquiring an additional 165,494 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 0.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,631,477 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $232,145,000 after purchasing an additional 17,250 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 6.6% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,358,330 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $208,052,000 after buying an additional 145,751 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 75.6% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,801,284 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $171,086,000 after buying an additional 775,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Lear by 78.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,269,500 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $120,577,000 after buying an additional 558,538 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEA traded down $2.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $103.22. 619,218 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 655,692. Lear has a fifty-two week low of $73.85 and a fifty-two week high of $115.47. The firm has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.24. Lear had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 2.05%.The business had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Lear has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lear will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Lear's payout ratio is presently 35.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on LEA. Bank of America cut Lear from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lear from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lear from $102.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Lear from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Lear from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lear currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.70.

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.