Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Lear (NYSE:LEA) Stock Price

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $103.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the auto parts company's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on Lear from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays downgraded shares of Lear from an "equal weight" rating to a "negative" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Lear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.55.

Lear Price Performance

NYSE:LEA traded up $5.53 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $100.51. 822,955 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 712,597. 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's 50-day moving average is $90.18 and its 200-day moving average is $91.44. The stock has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.29. Lear has a 1-year low of $73.85 and a 1-year high of $126.85.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.48. Lear had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 2.09%. The firm had revenue of $5.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.18 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Lear will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. Lear's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,187 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 84 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,800.24. This represents a 93.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lear in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Lear by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 491 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lear during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Lear by 131.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 765 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the first quarter worth $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.