Lowe’s Companies’ (LOW) Sector Perform Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $246.00 target price on the home improvement retailer’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 10.20% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on LOW. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $255.00 to $250.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Gordon Haskett reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $251.33.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded down $1.62 on Wednesday, reaching $223.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 722,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,423,798. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $238.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.74. Lowe’s Companies has a 52-week low of $181.85 and a 52-week high of $262.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.15.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.12. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. The business had revenue of $21.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 18,786.5% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 106,709 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $23,748,000 after purchasing an additional 106,144 shares during the last quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 215,442 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $47,947,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 45,072 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $10,031,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,890,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.