Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) Stock Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $143.25.

Several brokerages have commented on LEA. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Lear from $141.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lear from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Lear from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $131.00 target price on Lear in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut Lear from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd.

Lear Price Performance

LEA stock opened at $109.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $120.80 and a 200-day moving average of $128.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.28. Lear has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $150.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.39. Lear had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.79 EPS. Lear’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lear will post 15.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 2nd. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.90%.

Lear announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto parts company to buy up to 25.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Lear

In related news, CFO Jason Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.75, for a total value of $588,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $970,377.75. The trade was a 37.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted 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 purchasing an additional 107,678 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Lear during the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,397,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Lear by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 473,528 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $55,916,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Lear by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 176,084 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $21,320,000 after purchasing an additional 39,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 151,156 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $18,302,000 after buying an additional 18,990 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

About Lear

Lear Corporation is a global automotive technology supplier that designs and manufactures products for vehicle seating and electrical systems. Its customers include automakers around the world, and its products are used in a range of vehicle types. The company’s seating business provides complete seating systems and components, including seat structures, mechanisms, foam and trim. Its E-Systems business develops electrical distribution systems, connectivity solutions and electronic components that help manage power and data within vehicles.