Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Lear (NYSE:LEA) Stock Price

Lear (NYSE:LEA) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $89.00 to $100.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the auto parts company’s stock.

LEA has been the topic of several other reports. Cowen lowered shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Lear and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Lear from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Lear in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $123.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lear currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.09.

Lear Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of LEA opened at $94.18 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.30. Lear has a 12-month low of $73.85 and a 12-month high of $130.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $87.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $5.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. Lear’s revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lear will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.11%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In related news, Director Rod Lache acquired 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lear by 187.0% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lear by 68.2% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Lear by 233.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Lear during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in Lear by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 427 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is 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.