Lear (NYSE:LEA) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $76.66 and last traded at $77.32, with a volume of 227556 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $81.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.36.

Lear Stock Up 10.0 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.34.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. Lear’s payout ratio is 34.45%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other Lear news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,940.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LEA. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Lear by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,216 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Lear by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 410,908 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $38,913,000 after buying an additional 77,691 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,871,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Lear by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,049 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $14,742,000 after purchasing an additional 12,094 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 39,465 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,759,000 after acquiring an additional 5,711 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lear Company Profile

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.