Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $132.18.

LEA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $106.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday.

Lear Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of LEA stock opened at $95.54 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Lear has a 12-month low of $90.03 and a 12-month high of $147.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $96.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.21.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Lear by 187.0% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 240.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 303 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Lear during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Lear by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Lear by 233.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

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.