Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Increases Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,994 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 403 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hamilton Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 6,671 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,013 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thomasville National Bank lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 11,803 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,627,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $228.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $130.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $262.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $239.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.31.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. The company’s revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on LOW shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $203.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from an “average” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Gordon Haskett reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Monday, March 4th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.52.

About Lowe’s Companies

Lowe's Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States. The company offers a line of products for construction, maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating. It also provides home improvement products, such as appliances, seasonal and outdoor living, lawn and garden, lumber, kitchens and bath, tools, paint, millwork, hardware, flooring, rough plumbing, building materials, décor, and electrical.