Lear (NYSE:LEA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Benchmark

Lear (NYSE:LEA) was upgraded by stock analysts at Benchmark to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on LEA. Barclays set a $140.00 target price on Lear in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Lear from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Lear from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lear in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Lear from $146.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lear has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.27.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $134.71 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.41. Lear has a fifty-two week low of $73.85 and a fifty-two week high of $142.84. The company has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The auto parts company reported $3.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.74. Lear had a return on equity of 13.40% and a net margin of 1.88%.The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Lear will post 12.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total transaction of $590,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,801,383.48. The trade was a 24.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Lear by 5,205.1% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,268 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 7,131 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Lear in the first quarter valued at about $267,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Lear in the first quarter worth about $256,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Lear by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 66,098 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $6,246,000 after purchasing an additional 2,337 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Lear by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,254 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Lear

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage of Lear with a “Buy” recommendation — a formal analyst endorsement that can draw institutional interest and support the share price; this follows Lear’s Feb. 4 quarter where EPS ($3.41) and revenue ($5.99B) both beat consensus, giving the firm momentum. Benchmark initiates coverage of Lear (LEA) with buy recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: AI research commentary (Yann LeCun) highlights that current LLMs still fall short of human-like learning for real-world tasks such as driving — a reminder that timelines for full vehicle autonomy remain uncertain, which keeps the demand curve for some advanced automotive components (and related supplier investments) ambiguous for investors in component suppliers like Lear. Yann LeCun Says LLMs Are ‘Incredibly’ Useful, But AI Still Can’t Learn To Drive A Car Like A 17-Year Old

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.