Lear (NYSE:LEA) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

Lear (NYSE:LEA) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on LEA. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Lear in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $132.00 target price on shares of Lear in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Lear from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America lowered their price target on Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.67.

Lear Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LEA traded up $0.18 during trading on Thursday, reaching $93.19. 907,061 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 670,835. Lear has a 1-year low of $91.70 and a 1-year high of $147.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $99.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.45.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Lear will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lear by 11,753.3% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,016,778 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $116,126,000 after buying an additional 1,008,200 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Lear by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,187,890 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $820,929,000 after acquiring an additional 946,109 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Lear by 36.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,871,346 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $213,726,000 after acquiring an additional 504,091 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Lear by 115.4% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 561,100 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $64,083,000 after purchasing an additional 300,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Lear by 9.5% during the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,754,752 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $314,620,000 after purchasing an additional 238,964 shares during the period. 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.