Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) Receives $143.38 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $144.6154.

LEA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lear from $153.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Lear from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Lear from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $130.00 target price on shares of Lear in a research report on Monday, May 4th.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA stock opened at $140.76 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.08, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $138.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Lear has a 12 month low of $91.67 and a 12 month high of $150.33.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The auto parts company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $5.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 2.25%.Lear’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Lear will post 14.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.80%.

Key Lear News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Lear as a “Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term,” reinforcing the view that the auto parts maker has attractive fundamentals for patient investors. Why Lear (LEA) is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: Another article echoed the same bullish theme, suggesting Lear remains appealing as a longer-term growth name and likely supporting investor confidence in the stock. Why Lear (LEA) is a top growth stock for the long term
• Neutral Sentiment: The rest of the feed was mostly unrelated education, personal finance, and commentary articles, with no clear new operational update or earnings surprise for Lear that would materially change the stock’s outlook.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.34, for a total transaction of $26,854.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $237,875.22. This represents a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.37, for a total value of $6,768,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,739,936.93. This represents a 50.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,026 shares of company stock valued at $8,498,248. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lear

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Lear by 46,707.8% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 951,602 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $109,054,000 after purchasing an additional 949,569 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lear in the 4th quarter valued at $82,016,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Lear in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,656,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in Lear in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,984,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Lear by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 789,745 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $90,505,000 after buying an additional 200,617 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lear

Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA) is a global supplier of automotive seating and electrical distribution systems. The company designs, engineers and manufactures complete seat systems, seat components and power solutions for major vehicle manufacturers. Its electrical business delivers modules and components for battery management, infotainment, body and safety electronics, as well as advanced connectivity and electrification solutions.

The seating division develops lightweight, ergonomic seat structures, trim and mechanisms that address comfort, safety and environmental targets.