Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Upgraded by Telsey Advisory Group to Outperform Rating

Telsey Advisory Group upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $305.00 target price on the home improvement retailer’s stock, up from their previous target price of $275.00.

LOW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.44.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW stock traded up $4.80 on Friday, hitting $271.10. 2,102,467 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,186,897. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $264.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies has a twelve month low of $189.05 and a twelve month high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.56 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LOW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,677,378,000 after buying an additional 2,674,372 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1,889.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,134,969 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $578,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,668 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 20,275.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,205,014 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,100 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $217,995,000. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 387.7% during the 3rd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 811,374 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $219,761,000 after purchasing an additional 645,017 shares in the last quarter. 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.