Lear (NYSE:LEA) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Argus upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $141.28 and last traded at $139.22, with a volume of 698757 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $140.95.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lear from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Lear from $146.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Lear from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lear in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Lear from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lear presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lear

In related news, CFO Jason M. Cardew sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total transaction of $590,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,801,383.48. This represents a 24.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Lear News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lear’s Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.77 per share — a direct shareholder return that signals management confidence in near-term cash flow. At the current quote (~$136.78) that works out to roughly a 2.3% annualized yield. Lear Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive: Lear reported a February quarterly beat (EPS $3.41 vs. $2.67 est.; revenue $5.99B vs. $5.78B), which helps explain the board’s willingness to pay a cash dividend — but shareholders should watch upcoming guidance and free-cash-flow trends for sustainability. (No new guidance was announced in the dividend release.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Other items in the feed (theater listings, opinion pieces about options, unrelated company news) are not material to LEA’s near-term stock performance and unlikely to move the share price.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 134.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 25,951 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,611,000 after buying an additional 14,904 shares during the period. Capital Management Corp VA purchased a new stake in Lear in the 3rd quarter worth $2,295,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lear by 2,060.5% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 104,720 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $10,009,000 after purchasing an additional 99,873 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new position in shares of Lear during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,268,000. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in Lear by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 570,048 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $57,353,000 after buying an additional 20,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

Lear Trading Down 1.5%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $120.91 and a 200-day moving average of $109.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.30.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The auto parts company reported $3.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.74. Lear had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 13.40%. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lear Corporation will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Lear’s payout ratio is 37.79%.

About Lear

Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA) is a global supplier of automotive seating and electrical distribution systems. The company designs, engineers and manufactures complete seat systems, seat components and power solutions for major vehicle manufacturers. Its electrical business delivers modules and components for battery management, infotainment, body and safety electronics, as well as advanced connectivity and electrification solutions.

The seating division develops lightweight, ergonomic seat structures, trim and mechanisms that address comfort, safety and environmental targets.