Brokerages Set Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) PT at $271.60

Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $273.44.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LOW. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $323.00 price target on the stock. Gordon Haskett lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LOW. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 813,617 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $220,368,000 after buying an additional 30,740 shares during the last quarter. SSI Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $232,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 241,546 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $65,422,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 27,300 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,394,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 20,757 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $271.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $153.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies has a fifty-two week low of $189.05 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $264.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $242.11.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS 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 company had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.91 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 38.14%.

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.