Delta Financial Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Delta Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,776 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,393 shares during the quarter. Lowe’s Companies comprises approximately 1.2% of Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,690,606 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,329,237,000 after buying an additional 2,050,089 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,461,267,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,138,824 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,483,733,000 after acquiring an additional 78,901 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 107,710.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,080,039 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,012,147,000 after acquiring an additional 5,075,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,798,268 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $581,592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831,727 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Gordon Haskett reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Zelman & Associates reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird upgraded Lowe’s Companies from an “average” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $203.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock traded up $2.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $230.90. 603,916 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,533,437. The firm has a market cap of $132.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.85 and a 52-week high of $262.49. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $239.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.38.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 51.42% and a net margin of 8.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.43%.

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.