Citigroup Cuts Lear (NYSE:LEA) Price Target to $141.00

Lear (NYSE:LEA) had its target price trimmed by Citigroup from $145.00 to $141.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the auto parts company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Lear from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $160.33.

Lear Stock Performance

LEA opened at $127.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $138.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Lear has a 12-month low of $117.79 and a 12-month high of $157.90.

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

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Lear

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEA. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Lear during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Lear by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lear during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Lear by 131.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 443 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Lear during the first quarter worth about $62,000. 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.