Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Given New $245.00 Price Target at Barclays

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Barclays from $229.00 to $245.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 7.72% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on LOW. Bank of America raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.92.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $265.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $150.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies has a 52-week low of $196.23 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $268.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $244.50.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.56 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,010,730 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,045,006,000 after buying an additional 2,399,897 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1,889.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,134,969 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $578,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,668 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 20,275.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,205,014 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,657,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199,100 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 387.7% during the 3rd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 811,374 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $219,761,000 after acquiring an additional 645,017 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 493,180 shares during the period. 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.