Sanford C. Bernstein Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Stock Price

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $306.00 to $301.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price points to a potential upside of 13.37% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on LOW. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Loop Capital upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.92.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE LOW opened at $265.50 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $244.50. Lowe’s Companies has a one year low of $196.23 and a one year high of $287.01. The firm has a market cap of $150.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the third quarter valued at $27,000. JNBA Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 555.6% in the third quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 118 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 118.6% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 93.3% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 145 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.