StockNews.com Upgrades Lear (NYSE:LEA) to Buy

Lear (NYSE:LEA) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.44.

Lear Stock Performance

NYSE:LEA opened at $124.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.35. Lear has a fifty-two week low of $117.79 and a fifty-two week high of $157.90. The company has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $138.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.77.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lear will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lear in the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,611,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Lear by 970.4% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 540,850 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $76,373,000 after acquiring an additional 490,324 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Lear by 236.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 577,690 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $77,526,000 after purchasing an additional 405,875 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in Lear by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 981,669 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $138,595,000 after purchasing an additional 391,949 shares during the period. Finally, Lyrical Asset Management LP increased its position in shares of Lear by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 1,067,888 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $150,796,000 after purchasing an additional 380,771 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.