Lear (NYSE:LEA) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Lear (NYSE:LEA) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Cowen lowered Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays lowered Lear from an “equal weight” rating to a “negative” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Lear from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.00.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of Lear stock opened at $94.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $87.20 and its 200-day moving average is $92.99. Lear has a one year low of $73.85 and a one year high of $133.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $5.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 2.17%. Lear’s revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Lear will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,940.40. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lear

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Lear by 9.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,049 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $14,742,000 after purchasing an additional 12,094 shares in the last quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lear by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 9,957 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in Lear by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 115,324 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $10,921,000 after purchasing an additional 9,290 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Lear by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 427 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Lear by 233.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.