Lear (NYSE:LEA) Stock Price Target Cut by The Goldman Sachs Group

Lear (NYSE:LEA) had its price objective reduced by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $140.00 to $124.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the auto parts company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 3.70% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on LEA. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lear from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $131.00 price target on Lear in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lear from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Lear from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lear presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.75.

Lear Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of LEA stock opened at $119.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.29. Lear has a 1 year low of $96.04 and a 1 year high of $150.33. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The auto parts company reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.30. Lear had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lear will post 14.86 EPS for the current year.

Lear declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto parts company to repurchase up to 25.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.35, for a total value of $199,742.10. Following the sale, the director owned 37 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,489.95. This represents a 97.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Lear by 3.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,943,480 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $356,380,000 after buying an additional 107,678 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Lear in the second quarter valued at approximately $65,397,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lear by 220.9% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 258,063 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $29,574,000 after acquiring an additional 177,632 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 176,084 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $21,320,000 after acquiring an additional 39,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 151,156 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $18,302,000 after acquiring an additional 18,990 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lear

Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA) is a global automotive technology supplier that designs and manufactures products used by vehicle manufacturers worldwide. The company’s principal business areas are seating systems and e-systems, which support the functionality, comfort, safety and connectivity of modern vehicles.

Lear’s seating business provides complete seating systems and related components, including seat structures, mechanisms, foam, trim, covers and comfort technologies. Its e-systems business develops electrical distribution systems, connection systems, electronic components and software-enabled technologies that help manage power, data and connectivity within vehicles.

Founded in 1917 and headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, Lear serves automotive manufacturers through operations and facilities across major vehicle-producing regions, including North America, Europe and Asia.