Lear (NYSE:LEA) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lear (NYSE:LEA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. BNP Paribas Exane cut Lear from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Lear in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lear from $153.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $131.00 target price on Lear in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.23.

Lear Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of LEA opened at $128.38 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $96.04 and a 12-month high of $150.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $134.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.25.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.15 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 14.18%. Lear’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lear will post 14.86 EPS for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is 28.70%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.37, for a total transaction of $6,768,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,789 shares in the company, valued at $6,739,936.93. This trade represents a 50.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,646 shares of Lear stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.35, for a total value of $199,742.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 37 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,489.95. The trade was a 97.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 61,336 shares of company stock worth $8,367,727 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lear

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Lear by 5,205.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,268 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 7,131 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Lear during the 1st quarter worth approximately $267,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Lear during the 1st quarter worth approximately $256,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lear by 37.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 968 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Lear by 9.5% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,296 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lear News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Detroit’s Ethics Board is reportedly investigating the city’s top lawyer over a side job at Lear. The inquiry could create governance, compliance and reputational concerns, although the article does not indicate financial misconduct or any operational impact on Lear. Detroit Ethics Board to investigate top city lawyer for side job at Lear
• Neutral Sentiment: The other listed articles concern Cleveland-Cliffs, entertainment, education, cryptocurrency, personal finance and unrelated topics, and do not provide material information about Lear Corporation.

Lear Company Profile

Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA) is a global supplier of automotive seating and electrical distribution systems. The company designs, engineers and manufactures complete seat systems, seat components and power solutions for major vehicle manufacturers. Its electrical business delivers modules and components for battery management, infotainment, body and safety electronics, as well as advanced connectivity and electrification solutions.

The seating division develops lightweight, ergonomic seat structures, trim and mechanisms that address comfort, safety and environmental targets.