Lear (NYSE:LEA) Stock Rating Lowered by TD Cowen

Lear (NYSE:LEA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $95.00 price target on the auto parts company’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 4.03% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Lear from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Lear from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lear has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.36.

Lear Stock Performance

Shares of LEA opened at $98.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.44. Lear has a one year low of $86.28 and a one year high of $147.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $94.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.32.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. As a group, analysts expect that Lear will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lear

In other news, Director Rod Lache purchased 2,178 shares of Lear stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.80 per share, for a total transaction of $199,940.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,940.40. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lear

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Lear in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,329,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lear in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Perennial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lear during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,002,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Lear by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 27,622 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 2,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Lear by 128.8% during the fourth quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 39,528 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,743,000 after purchasing an additional 22,254 shares in the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.