Lear (NYSE:LEA) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Benchmark

Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Lear (NYSE:LEA) in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $170.00 price objective on the auto parts company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lear from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Evercore upped their price objective on Lear from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Lear in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Argus raised Lear to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lear from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.27.

Lear Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of LEA stock opened at $134.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.30. Lear has a 1 year low of $73.85 and a 1 year high of $142.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $124.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.53.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The auto parts company reported $3.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.74. Lear had a return on equity of 13.40% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. Lear’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lear will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.79%.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $590,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,244 shares in the company, valued at $1,801,383.48. The trade was a 24.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lear

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Lear in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lear during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 942.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC bought a new position in Lear in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Lear by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 309 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Lear News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage of Lear with a “Buy” recommendation — a formal analyst endorsement that can draw institutional interest and support the share price; this follows Lear’s Feb. 4 quarter where EPS ($3.41) and revenue ($5.99B) both beat consensus, giving the firm momentum. Benchmark initiates coverage of Lear (LEA) with buy recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: AI research commentary (Yann LeCun) highlights that current LLMs still fall short of human-like learning for real-world tasks such as driving — a reminder that timelines for full vehicle autonomy remain uncertain, which keeps the demand curve for some advanced automotive components (and related supplier investments) ambiguous for investors in component suppliers like Lear. Yann LeCun Says LLMs Are ‘Incredibly’ Useful, But AI Still Can’t Learn To Drive A Car Like A 17-Year Old

Lear Company Profile

Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA) is a global supplier of automotive seating and electrical distribution systems. The company designs, engineers and manufactures complete seat systems, seat components and power solutions for major vehicle manufacturers. Its electrical business delivers modules and components for battery management, infotainment, body and safety electronics, as well as advanced connectivity and electrification solutions.

The seating division develops lightweight, ergonomic seat structures, trim and mechanisms that address comfort, safety and environmental targets.