Wells Fargo & Company Increases Lear (NYSE:LEA) Price Target to $139.00

Lear (NYSE:LEA) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $134.00 to $139.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the auto parts company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Benchmark increased their price target 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. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $160.33.

Lear Price Performance

LEA stock opened at $127.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $138.07 and its 200 day moving average is $135.57. Lear has a 52 week low of $117.79 and a 52 week high of $157.90.

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

Lear Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Lear’s payout ratio is 33.59%.

Insider Transactions at Lear

In other Lear news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of Lear stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Lear during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Lear by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Lear in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Lear in the 1st quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 131.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 443 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.