Lear (NYSE:LEA) Lowered to Hold Rating by TD Cowen

TD Cowen cut shares of Lear (NYSE:LEA - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $95.00 price objective on the auto parts company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Lear from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lear has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.36.

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Lear Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of Lear stock traded down $3.04 on Friday, reaching $96.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 647,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 715,105. Lear has a 52 week low of $86.28 and a 52 week high of $147.11. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $95.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.12. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. Equities analysts anticipate that Lear will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Lear's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Rod Lache bought 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.80 per share, with a total value of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,940.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RWC Asset Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Lear by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 410,908 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $38,913,000 after acquiring an additional 77,691 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Lear by 9.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,049 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $14,742,000 after purchasing an additional 12,094 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Lear by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 39,465 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $3,759,000 after purchasing an additional 5,711 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Lear by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 676,977 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $64,110,000 after buying an additional 99,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 61.1% in the 4th quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 9,055 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $858,000 after buying an additional 3,435 shares during 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.