Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.77

Lear Co. (NYSE:LEA) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 14th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.77 per share by the auto parts company on Wednesday, March 26th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%.

Lear has increased its dividend payment by an average of 20.3% annually over the last three years. Lear has a dividend payout ratio of 20.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Lear to earn $15.14 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.3%.

Lear Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE LEA opened at $96.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.42. Lear has a 52-week low of $86.28 and a 52-week high of $147.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $95.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.06.

Lear (NYSE:LEA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.44. Lear had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 14.70%. Equities analysts forecast that Lear will post 13.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LEA shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lear from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $147.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Lear from $142.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lear presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $127.00.

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.