Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Trading Down 0.8%

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)’s stock price dropped 0.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $245.64 and last traded at $246.44. Approximately 333,493 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 2,509,454 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.04.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $235.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.90. The firm has a market cap of $139.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.07.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly 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. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.56 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 36.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,677,378,000 after acquiring an additional 2,674,372 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth $1,638,746,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,147,603,000 after acquiring an additional 82,978 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 52,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $468,884,000 after acquiring an additional 493,180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

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.