Lear (NYSE:LEA) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $100.86 and last traded at $100.96, with a volume of 410440 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $104.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LEA. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Lear in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Lear from $144.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Lear from $114.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Lear from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lear presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.75.

Lear Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.44.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business 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 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lear Co. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LEA. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Lear in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Lear during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lear by 70.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Lear by 240.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 303 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Lear by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.