Oppenheimer Upgrades Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) to Outperform

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) was upgraded by stock analysts at Oppenheimer from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $305.00 price objective on the home improvement retailer’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $230.00. Oppenheimer’s price objective points to a potential upside of 16.28% from the company’s previous close.

LOW has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.13.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

LOW opened at $262.29 on Tuesday. Lowe’s Companies has a 1-year low of $181.85 and a 1-year high of $262.49. The company has a market capitalization of $149.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $244.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $235.47.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. 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.