Sanford C. Bernstein Cuts Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Price Target to $301.00

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its price target lowered by Sanford C. Bernstein from $306.00 to $301.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on LOW. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $262.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Gordon Haskett lowered their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.92.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

LOW stock opened at $264.63 on Wednesday. Lowe’s Companies has a 52 week low of $196.23 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.73. The company has a market cap of $150.12 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.56 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,010,730 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,045,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399,897 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1,889.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,134,969 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $578,256,000 after buying an additional 2,027,668 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 20,275.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,205,014 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,657,000 after buying an additional 1,199,100 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 387.7% in the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 811,374 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $219,761,000 after acquiring an additional 645,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $468,884,000 after acquiring an additional 493,180 shares during the period. 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.