Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Position Increased by Transform Wealth LLC

Transform Wealth LLC raised its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,605 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 222 shares during the quarter. Transform Wealth LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $3,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $255.00 to $250.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Gordon Haskett restated a “hold” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $246.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $251.33.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE:LOW traded up $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $221.04. 925,600 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,460,296. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $262.49. The stock has a market cap of $125.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $225.69 and a 200 day moving average of $228.22.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $21.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.14 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 8.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

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