Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $140.25.

Several research firms have issued reports on LEA. Barclays lowered shares of Lear from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th.

Lear Stock Performance

NYSE LEA opened at $102.62 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $100.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.06. Lear has a 1 year low of $92.14 and a 1 year high of $147.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.45.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.32. Lear had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.87 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lear will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Lear’s payout ratio is 32.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in Lear by 7.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 144,282 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $15,748,000 after buying an additional 9,774 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Lear by 18.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 196,829 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $21,015,000 after buying an additional 30,529 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Lear during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lear by 10.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,052 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in Lear by 63.5% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,426 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.