Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Price Target Cut to $301.00 by Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $306.00 to $301.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.89% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Gordon Haskett reduced their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.92.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE LOW traded up $2.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $261.99. 1,121,847 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,442,700. The stock has a market cap of $148.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies has a 1 year low of $196.23 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $267.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.23.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% during the 3rd 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 period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,027,668 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 20,275.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,205,014 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,100 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 387.7% during the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 811,374 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $219,761,000 after purchasing an additional 645,017 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake 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 valued at $468,884,000 after purchasing an additional 493,180 shares during the period. 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.