StockNews.com Lowers Lear (NYSE:LEA) to Hold

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on LEA. Bank of America reduced their target price on Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Lear from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Lear in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Lear from $136.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lear from $144.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.75.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEA traded up $2.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $100.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 593,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 659,353. Lear has a one year low of $97.51 and a one year high of $147.11. The company has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $108.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Lear (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.32. Lear had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.87 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lear will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Lear

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LEA. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Lear during the 1st quarter worth about $1,984,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Lear by 1.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 307,383 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $44,534,000 after acquiring an additional 5,584 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in Lear by 35.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 54,995 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $7,953,000 after acquiring an additional 14,305 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Lear during the 2nd quarter worth $530,000. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 73.6% during the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 11,754 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,703,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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