Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Trading Up 0.9%

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)’s stock price traded up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $259.49 and last traded at $258.94. 274,272 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 2,481,709 shares. The stock had previously closed at $256.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased 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. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.33.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 1.7 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $242.43 and a 200-day moving average of $235.09. The stock has a market cap of $148.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 93.3% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 145 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.