Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $143.58

Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $143.58.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Lear from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lear from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays dropped their price target on Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Lear from $143.00 to $139.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Lear from $141.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of Lear stock traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $119.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 479,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 598,632. Lear has a one year low of $98.79 and a one year high of $150.33. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.29.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.15 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.06 EPS. As a group, 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 given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.70%.

Lear announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 24th that authorizes the company to buy back $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto parts company to repurchase up to 25.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.35, for a total transaction of $199,742.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 37 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lear

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Lear by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,943,480 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $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 Lear in the 2nd quarter worth about $65,397,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Lear by 220.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 258,063 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $29,574,000 after purchasing an additional 177,632 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Lear by 28.8% in the first 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 period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Lear by 14.4% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 151,156 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $18,302,000 after purchasing an additional 18,990 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

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.