Lear (NYSE:LEA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

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

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on LEA. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $143.00 to $139.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lear from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price (down from $175.00) on shares of Lear in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $131.00 target price on Lear in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Lear from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lear has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.58.

Lear Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of LEA opened at $119.63 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.54. The company has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Lear has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $150.33.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The auto parts company reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.30. Lear had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Lear will post 14.88 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 2nd. Lear’s payout ratio is currently 28.70%.

Lear declared that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 buy up to 25.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Lear

In related news, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.35, for a total value of $199,742.10. Following the transaction, the director owned 37 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,489.95. This trade represents a 97.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $356,380,000 after purchasing an additional 107,678 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Lear during the second quarter valued at approximately $65,397,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Lear by 220.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 258,063 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $29,574,000 after buying an additional 177,632 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Lear by 28.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 176,084 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $21,320,000 after buying an additional 39,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Lear by 14.4% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 151,156 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $18,302,000 after buying an additional 18,990 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lear

Lear Corporation is a global automotive technology company that designs and manufactures products used in passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. Its operations are 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 support vehicle power management and connectivity.

The company serves automotive manufacturers and their vehicle programs in major markets across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions.