Lear (NYSE:LEA) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $91.14 and last traded at $91.62, with a volume of 16600 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Lear from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America reduced their target price on Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays cut Lear from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $140.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.18.

Lear Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.02. The company has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.56, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its 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. Lear had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 2.33%. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.87 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.39%.

Institutional Trading of Lear

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Lear during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lear by 70.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Lear by 240.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 303 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Lear during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Lear by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lear Company 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.