Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Rating Increased to Buy at Loop Capital

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) was upgraded by equities researchers at Loop Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $300.00 price objective on the home improvement retailer’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $250.00. Loop Capital’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 9.80% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.63.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $273.22 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.39. Lowe’s Companies has a 12 month low of $181.85 and a 12 month high of $278.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Lowe’s Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,677,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,372 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,147,603,000 after purchasing an additional 82,978 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $468,884,000 after buying an additional 493,180 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,617,849 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $356,671,000 after purchasing an additional 90,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 11.1% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,499,015 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $330,473,000 after buying an additional 149,649 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is 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.