Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Short Interest Update

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,140,000 shares, a drop of 5.3% from the July 31st total of 2,260,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 772,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 3.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Lear Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $116.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.34. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $115.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.73. Lear has a fifty-two week low of $107.25 and a fifty-two week high of $147.57. The company has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.47.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. Lear had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 2.30%. Lear’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lear will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LEA. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Lear by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 18,393 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,665,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Lear by 2.7% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,828 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Lear by 70.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,828 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Lear by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 882 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEA has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lear from $179.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price target on Lear from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Lear from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lear from $132.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.56.

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.