Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Shares Up 1%

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) traded up 1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $239.65 and last traded at $238.65. 466,907 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 2,520,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $236.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $246.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.19.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $228.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $231.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.07.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.12. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 24th. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 18,786.5% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 106,709 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $23,748,000 after buying an additional 106,144 shares during the last quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 215,442 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $47,947,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 824.6% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,339 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,414,000 after buying an additional 13,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% in the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $55,266,000 after purchasing an additional 20,181 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.