Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Trading Down 2.4%

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) fell 2.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $240.00 and last traded at $241.41. 342,837 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,494,233 shares. The stock had previously closed at $247.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on LOW. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.83.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $142.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.61.

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

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,677,378,000 after buying an additional 2,674,372 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth $1,638,746,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,147,603,000 after purchasing an additional 82,978 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,851,127 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $634,518,000 after purchasing an additional 52,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during 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 in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently 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.