Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Lifted to “Outperform” at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $305.00 target price on the home improvement retailer’s stock, up from their previous target price of $230.00.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group raised 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 restated a neutral rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $258.13.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.3 %

LOW opened at $265.68 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $245.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $235.84. Lowe’s Companies has a 1-year low of $181.85 and a 1-year high of $268.09. The company has a market cap of $151.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.95%.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,334,678.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 93.3% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 145 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the second quarter worth $37,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.