Magnetar Financial LLC Invests $2.94 Million in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 25,712 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,937,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Lear during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Lear during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Lear during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lear by 70.5% during the 2nd 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. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Lear during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA stock opened at $108.60 on Tuesday. Lear Co. has a 1-year low of $101.67 and a 1-year high of $147.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.55.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The auto parts company reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.26. Lear had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 2.30%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. Lear’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.84%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on LEA shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Lear from $136.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $132.00 target price on shares of Lear in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America cut their target price on Lear from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lear from $131.00 to $114.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Lear from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lear currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.70.

Lear 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.