Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Shares Up 0.1%

Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $258.13 and last traded at $255.70. 285,155 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 2,487,058 shares. The stock had previously closed at $255.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $252.83.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $240.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.75. The company has a market cap of $146.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 824.6% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,339 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,414,000 after acquiring an additional 13,680 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $55,266,000 after acquiring an additional 20,181 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 655.9% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,304 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,470 shares during the period. Finally, 17 Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the first quarter worth about $1,368,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

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.