Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Purchased by Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 196.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 50,102 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,210 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $12,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $246.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho began coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Zelman & Associates reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $251.33.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

LOW stock traded down $0.34 on Thursday, reaching $218.44. 1,314,580 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,461,879. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $225.69 and a 200-day moving average of $228.22. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $262.49. The firm has a market cap of $124.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 24th. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 35.34%.

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.