Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,560,000 shares, a drop of 20.0% from the December 31st total of 3,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 759,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 4.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LEA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Lear from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. TD Cowen cut their price target on Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.18.

Lear Price Performance

LEA stock opened at $95.54 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $96.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.21. Lear has a one year low of $90.03 and a one year high of $147.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Lear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. Lear’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lear

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LEA. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Lear by 7.3% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,714,653 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $842,054,000 after purchasing an additional 526,763 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Lear by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,264,090 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $137,975,000 after buying an additional 247,312 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Lear by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,713,661 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $187,046,000 after acquiring an additional 206,822 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Lear by 7,452.3% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,855 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $16,129,000 after acquiring an additional 171,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Lear by 2,630.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 161,422 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $18,436,000 after acquiring an additional 155,510 shares during the last quarter. 97.04% of the stock is 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.