Lear (NYSE:LEA) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Lear (NYSE:LEA) 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 Wednesday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Lear from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Lear in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $114.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.25.

Lear Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $96.52 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $102.78 and a 200 day moving average of $112.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Lear has a twelve month low of $92.14 and a twelve month high of $147.11. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.46.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.32. Lear had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 2.33%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Lear will post 12.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LEA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lear by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,023,195 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $872,640,000 after buying an additional 109,746 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lear during the 1st quarter worth approximately $100,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Lear by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 800 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its position in Lear by 73.6% during the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 11,754 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,703,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Lear by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,266 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,806 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.