Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) were down 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $264.34 and last traded at $264.82. Approximately 178,836 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 2,483,387 shares. The stock had previously closed at $266.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LOW. Oppenheimer upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America decreased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Truist Financial upped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Gordon Haskett cut their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.13.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $150.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $244.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.64.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 36.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.4% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 44,376 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $9,783,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 69.3% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 74,500 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $16,424,000 after purchasing an additional 30,500 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 2.7% during the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 32,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,194,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 5.5% during the second quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 6,764 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the second quarter valued at $218,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.