Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Stock Price Up 1.7% After Analyst Upgrade

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) was up 1.7% during trading on Thursday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $240.00 to $265.00. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Lowe’s Companies traded as high as $262.25 and last traded at $261.05. Approximately 404,639 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 2,471,689 shares. The stock had previously closed at $256.63.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on LOW. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lowe’s Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 824.6% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,339 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,414,000 after purchasing an additional 13,680 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $55,266,000 after buying an additional 20,181 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 655.9% during the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,304 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,606,000 after buying an additional 5,470 shares during the period. 17 Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $1,368,000. Finally, Gerber LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $235,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $148.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $243.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.40.

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, beating 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 revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a boost 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 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 36.95%.

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.