abrdn plc Raises Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

abrdn plc raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 662,761 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 111,377 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.12% of Lowe’s Companies worth $147,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vantage Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 59,518 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the period. CNB Bank increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. CNB Bank now owns 4,310 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,847 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares during the period. Castle Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,827 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,871 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on LOW shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from an “average” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $203.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $199.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW traded up $1.45 on Friday, reaching $230.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,112,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,254,721. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $239.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.63. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $262.49.

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

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

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

Lowe’s Companies 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.