Valmark Advisers Inc. Raises Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,376 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 220 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 13.5% in 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 lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 18,786.5% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 106,709 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $23,748,000 after acquiring an additional 106,144 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% during the 4th 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 holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 824.6% in 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 period. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $55,266,000 after purchasing an additional 20,181 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on LOW. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Gordon Haskett lowered their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.04.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.7 %

LOW stock opened at $248.50 on Monday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $262.49. The business’s 50-day moving average is $234.08 and its 200 day moving average is $233.55. The stock has a market cap of $141.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.07.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.95%.

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.