Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 11.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,115 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,930,693 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,271,836,000 after buying an additional 116,855 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,638,746,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,211,131 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $714,637,000 after purchasing an additional 41,451 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,851,127 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $634,518,000 after purchasing an additional 52,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $430,090,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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 cut their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $255.00 to $250.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $251.33.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.7 %

LOW traded up $1.53 on Wednesday, hitting $218.78. 2,542,383 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,471,284. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $225.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.28. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $181.85 and a one year high of $262.49. The firm has a market cap of $124.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.08.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.12. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.46% and a negative return on equity of 48.52%. The firm had revenue of $21.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 24th. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.34%.

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.