Lear (NYSE:LEA) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Lear (NYSE:LEA) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on LEA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lear from $179.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lear from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $160.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Lear from $132.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Lear from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.70.

Lear Trading Up 0.5 %

LEA traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $121.31. 696,384 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 659,236. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $119.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.47. 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 52 week low of $112.26 and a 52 week high of $157.90.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.26. Lear had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 2.28%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. Lear’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lear will post 13.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total transaction of $296,273.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 2,392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.86, for a total transaction of $296,273.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $159,174.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LEA. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Lear by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 88,489 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $12,495,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,753 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 3,781 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 14,001 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 3,186 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 873 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Lear by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 755 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is 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.