Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,560,000 shares, a decrease of 20.0% from the December 31st total of 3,200,000 shares. Approximately 4.7% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 759,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEA. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lear by 187.0% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Lear by 240.4% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 303 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Lear in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Lear by 233.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 410 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.04% of the company's stock.
Shares of NYSE:LEA opened at $95.54 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.21. Lear has a 1-year low of $90.03 and a 1-year high of $147.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.03.
The company also recently announced 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 was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Lear's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.39%.
A number of analysts recently commented on LEA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Lear from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.18.
Check Out Our Latest Report on LEA
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.
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