Lear (NYSE:LEA) Shares Gap Down to $137.23

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $137.23, but opened at $131.81. Lear shares last traded at $129.69, with a volume of 440,111 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lear from $130.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Benchmark raised their target price on Lear from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Lear from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.44.

Lear Stock Down 7.1 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.54.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.12 by ($0.09). Lear had a return on equity of 14.09% and a net margin of 2.44%. The company had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Lear Co. will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total value of $1,415,224.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total value of $1,415,224.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total transaction of $387,227.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,465,019.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEA. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Lear during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 373 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Lear by 131.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 443 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the 4th quarter valued at about $75,000. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.