New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Buys 8,100 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 26.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 39,177 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,100 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $9,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Zelman & Associates restated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Gordon Haskett reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $251.33.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.3 %

Lowe’s Companies stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $220.46. 12,630,451 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,428,194. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.85 and a fifty-two week high of $262.49. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $225.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.40.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $21.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.14 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 8.46%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. Research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 24th. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.