Westhampton Capital LLC Has $1.94 Million Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Westhampton Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,625 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Westhampton Capital LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 90,203 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $18,748,000 after buying an additional 22,645 shares during the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 31,425 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,531,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the third quarter worth about $1,288,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 64.9% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,873 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,091,000 after purchasing an additional 5,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 683,598 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $142,079,000 after acquiring an additional 43,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE LOW traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $212.51. 958,386 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,542,135. The company has a market capitalization of $121.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $225.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $228.49. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.85 and a 52-week high of $262.49.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.12. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 8.46%. The company had revenue of $21.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 24th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 35.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LOW. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Gordon Haskett restated a “hold” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $246.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.41.

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.