Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Shares Up 0.6%

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)’s share price traded up 0.6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $253.20 and last traded at $251.49. 366,076 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 2,523,966 shares. The stock had previously closed at $250.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LOW. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Gordon Haskett lowered their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.04.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.2 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $231.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.72. The stock has a market cap of $142.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.07.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.46% and a negative return on equity of 48.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aldebaran Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 3,865 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $595,000. Ted Buchan & Co bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $256,000. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 8.5% during the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $861,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,331 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

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.