Piper Sandler Cuts Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Price Target to $269.00

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its target price decreased by Piper Sandler from $296.00 to $269.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock.

LOW has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America cut their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.71.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $233.01 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $247.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $257.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. Lowe’s Companies has a 52-week low of $211.80 and a 52-week high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.29 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,270,496 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,483,558,000 after purchasing an additional 259,766 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,013,655 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,774,948,000 after purchasing an additional 460,851 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,979,337 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,952,341,000 after buying an additional 245,876 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,842,954,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,745,960,000 after acquiring an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

About Lowe’s Companies

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.