Lear (NYSE:LEA) Shares Gap Down to $137.23

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $137.23, but opened at $131.81. Lear shares last traded at $129.69, with a volume of 440,111 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on LEA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lear from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.44.

Lear Trading Down 1.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $138.62 and its 200-day moving average is $135.77.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 2.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.78 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Lear’s payout ratio is 33.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total value of $1,415,224.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total value of $1,415,224.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total transaction of $387,227.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,465,019.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Lear in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Lear by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Lear by 131.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 443 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Lear during the 4th quarter valued at $75,000. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lear

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.