Lear (NYSE:LEA) PT Lowered to $141.00 at Citigroup

Lear (NYSE:LEA) had its target price cut by Citigroup from $145.00 to $141.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the auto parts company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on LEA. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Lear from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $160.33.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of LEA opened at $127.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Lear has a 1-year low of $117.79 and a 1-year high of $157.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $138.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.63.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lear will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total transaction of $1,415,224.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,483.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total transaction of $387,227.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lear

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. WBI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Lear during the 1st quarter valued at about $712,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Lear during the 1st quarter valued at about $62,000. FORA Capital LLC grew its stake in Lear by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 12,616 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after acquiring an additional 3,932 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Lear by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,828 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Lear by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,180 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.