Lear (NYSE:LEA) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $91.70 and last traded at $91.73, with a volume of 16639 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LEA shares. StockNews.com raised Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. 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. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays downgraded shares of Lear from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Lear from $144.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven equities 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.18.

Lear Stock Up 0.4 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.45. 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 posted 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. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.52 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lear Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Lear’s payout ratio is 32.39%.

Institutional Trading of Lear

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lear in the 4th quarter worth approximately $277,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in Lear by 7.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 144,282 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $15,748,000 after buying an additional 9,774 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lear by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 196,829 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $21,015,000 after purchasing an additional 30,529 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Lear during the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lear by 10.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,052 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in 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.