Signaturefd LLC Grows Position in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)

Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) by 71.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after buying an additional 139 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Lear were worth $36,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Lear during the second quarter worth $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lear in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lear by 70.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Lear by 240.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 303 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Lear during the first quarter worth about $62,000. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Lear from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Lear from $144.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Lear from $136.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lear currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.08.

Lear Price Performance

Lear stock opened at $97.82 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $108.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.82. The company has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.34. Lear Co. has a 1 year low of $97.26 and a 1 year high of $147.11.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.39%.

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.