Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Trading Up 2.8%

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) was up 2.8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $246.99 and last traded at $246.99. Approximately 331,535 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 2,523,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LOW shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $264.00 to $262.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.04.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $142.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $231.99 and its 200-day moving average is $232.64.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.46% and a negative return on equity of 48.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 24th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 36.95%.

Institutional Trading of Lowe’s Companies

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC increased 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 valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased 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 valued at $23,748,000 after purchasing an additional 106,144 shares during the last quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC increased 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 valued at $47,947,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased 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 valued at $3,414,000 after purchasing an additional 13,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $55,266,000 after acquiring an additional 20,181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.