Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Shares Up 0.6%

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) shot up 0.6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $225.04 and last traded at $224.76. 250,001 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 2,431,008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on LOW. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Zelman & Associates reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $251.33.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $129.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $226.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $227.64.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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 announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Company Profile

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.