Lear (NYSE:LEA) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $95.59 and last traded at $96.07, with a volume of 10113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LEA shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Lear from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Lear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Lear from $136.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $132.00 price target on shares of Lear in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lear has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.08.

Lear Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $106.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.97. The stock has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.46.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The auto parts company reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.52 billion. Lear had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Lear Co. will post 12.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lear Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Lear’s payout ratio is 32.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Lear during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lear during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Lear by 70.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Lear by 240.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 303 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Lear by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.04% of the company’s stock.

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.