Short Interest in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Expands By 15.0%

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,830,000 shares, an increase of 15.0% from the March 15th total of 2,460,000 shares. Currently, 5.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 531,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on LEA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lear from $195.00 to $179.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com raised Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays increased their target price on Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lear presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.44.

Lear Stock Performance

LEA traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $131.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 437,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 531,147. Lear has a fifty-two week low of $117.79 and a fifty-two week high of $157.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.87.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.12 by ($0.09). Lear had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The business had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lear will post 14.55 EPS for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

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

Institutional Trading of Lear

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Lear by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,828 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $989,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its stake in shares of Lear by 196.7% in the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 319,156 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $46,239,000 after buying an additional 211,574 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. raised its stake in shares of Lear by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 25,979 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,764,000 after buying an additional 3,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perennial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lear by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Perennial Advisors LLC now owns 30,166 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,370,000 after buying an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lear

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.