Lear (NYSE:LEA) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lear (NYSE:LEA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on LEA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $131.00 price target on Lear in a report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price objective (down from $175.00) on shares of Lear in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lear from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Lear in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lear from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lear has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.33.

Lear Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $122.58 on Friday. Lear has a 1 year low of $96.04 and a 1 year high of $150.33. The stock has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.79 and a 200 day moving average of $130.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The auto parts company reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lear will post 14.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,646 shares of Lear stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.35, for a total value of $199,742.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 37 shares in the company, valued at $4,489.95. The trade was a 97.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lear in the 4th quarter worth $82,016,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Lear during the second quarter valued at about $65,397,000. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lear in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,539,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted 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 worth $29,574,000 after acquiring an additional 177,632 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new position in shares of Lear in the second quarter worth about $17,423,000. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Lear

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts give Lear Corporation an average rating of “Hold”, suggesting Wall Street sees limited near-term upside relative to the stock’s risks. The consensus stance is unlikely to create a strong catalyst, but it also does not indicate broad-based expectations for a major decline. Lear Corporation Receives Average Rating of Hold from Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: A separate report says Lear’s shares fell as analysts became more cautious. That caution may reflect concerns about the auto-supply-chain environment, cyclical vehicle demand, margin durability, and whether recent earnings strength can continue. The story creates a potential overhang even as Lear trades at a relatively modest valuation. Lear Corporation Stock Falls as Analysts Turn More Cautious

Lear Company Profile

Lear Corporation is a global automotive technology company that designs and manufactures systems and components used in passenger vehicles. Its business is organized primarily around two areas: seating and E-Systems. Lear supplies complete vehicle seating systems, including seats, structures, mechanisms, foam, covers and related components, as well as electrical distribution systems and other technologies that help manage power, data and connectivity within vehicles.

The company’s E-Systems offerings include low- and high-voltage wiring systems, connection systems, battery and power-management solutions, electronic control modules, displays and software-enabled technologies.