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 Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Lear from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price target (down from $175.00) on shares of Lear in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lear from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lear from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Lear from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.33.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of LEA opened at $120.44 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $130.35 and its 200 day moving average is $130.33. Lear has a 12-month low of $96.04 and a 12-month high of $150.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.26.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The auto parts company reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.30. Lear had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.06 EPS. Lear’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lear will post 14.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. Lear’s payout ratio is presently 28.70%.

Insider Activity at Lear

In related news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 50,000 shares of Lear 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,739,936.93. This trade represents a 50.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Conrad Mallett, Jr. sold 1,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.35, for a total value of $199,742.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 37 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,489.95. This represents a 97.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Lear by 3.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,943,480 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $356,380,000 after buying an additional 107,678 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lear in the fourth quarter worth about $82,016,000. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Lear by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 713,741 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $81,795,000 after acquiring an additional 32,810 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in Lear by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 589,753 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $67,586,000 after acquiring an additional 19,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Lear in the second quarter valued at about $65,397,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Lear News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed a Neutral rating on Lear, indicating that the firm sees a balanced risk-reward profile rather than a clear near-term catalyst. JPMorgan Chase reaffirms Neutral rating for Lear
• Negative Sentiment: A separate report said Lear shares came under pressure following a JPMorgan downgrade and comments tied to the company’s investor conference guidance. The downgrade-related assessment and potentially cautious outlook appear to be the primary reasons for the stock’s weakness, particularly as shares remain below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Lear Corporation stock dips after JPMorgan downgrade and conference guidance

Lear Company Profile

Lear Corporation is a global automotive technology company that designs and manufactures systems and components used in passenger vehicles. Its business is organized primarily around two areas: seating and E-Systems. Lear supplies complete vehicle seating systems, including seats, structures, mechanisms, foam, covers and related components, as well as electrical distribution systems and other technologies that help manage power, data and connectivity within vehicles.

The company’s E-Systems offerings include low- and high-voltage wiring systems, connection systems, battery and power-management solutions, electronic control modules, displays and software-enabled technologies.