Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Stock

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its price objective boosted by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $230.00 to $250.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target indicates a potential upside of 1.29% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on LOW. Bank of America decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $325.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore ISI reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.63.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

LOW traded up $4.34 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $246.82. 126,297 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,749,851. The company has a market cap of $138.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.87. Lowe’s Companies has a one year low of $206.38 and a one year high of $280.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.98.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $20.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.88 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 52.02% and a net margin of 8.20%.The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.89 EPS. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.250-12.250 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.60, for a total transaction of $11,942,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 66,566 shares in the company, valued at $18,145,891.60. The trade was a 39.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total transaction of $2,200,207.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,802,133.74. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lowe’s Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,306,162 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,898,992,000 after purchasing an additional 329,807 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,036,276 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,291,867,000 after buying an additional 124,501 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,351,783 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,732,049,000 after acquiring an additional 42,190 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,773,624,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,830,080 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,716,467,000 after purchasing an additional 103,827 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.