Barclays Lowers Lear (NYSE:LEA) Price Target to $165.00

Lear (NYSE:LEA) had its target price reduced by research analysts at Barclays from $175.00 to $165.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the auto parts company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential upside of 29.77% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Lear from $146.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Lear from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Lear from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.33.

Lear Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:LEA traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $127.15. 568,998 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 688,659. The stock has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.55. Lear has a twelve month low of $117.79 and a twelve month high of $157.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $138.07 and a 200 day moving average of $135.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Lear will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In other Lear news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,465,019.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Raymond E. Scott sold 10,652 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total transaction of $1,415,224.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,627 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,483.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 2,750 shares of Lear stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.81, for a total value of $387,227.50. Following the sale, 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. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lear in the fourth quarter valued at about $79,611,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Lear by 970.4% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 540,850 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $76,373,000 after acquiring an additional 490,324 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Lear by 236.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 577,690 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $77,526,000 after purchasing an additional 405,875 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Lear by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 981,669 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $138,595,000 after purchasing an additional 391,949 shares during the period. Finally, Lyrical Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in Lear by 55.4% in the 4th quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 1,067,888 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $150,796,000 after purchasing an additional 380,771 shares during the period. 97.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.