Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Gordon Haskett reissued a hold rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $240.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a market perform rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $251.33.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

LOW stock opened at $215.21 on Wednesday. Lowe’s Companies has a 1 year low of $181.85 and a 1 year high of $262.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $236.44 and a 200 day moving average of $224.81. The company has a market cap of $123.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.15.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.12. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 8.46%. The company had revenue of $21.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 35.34%.

Institutional Trading of Lowe’s Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by 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.