Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. Raises Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Hamilton Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 6,671 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,013 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,006,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 11,803 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,627,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 10,338 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,301,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded up $1.93 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $230.79. 235,558 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,527,150. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.85 and a 1 year high of $262.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $239.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.05 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 (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. The firm had revenue of $18.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LOW shares. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from an “average” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $203.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Wedbush raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.52.

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.