Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on LOW. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $255.00 to $250.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho initiated coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a buy rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $238.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $251.33.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $215.21 on Wednesday. Lowe’s Companies has a one year low of $181.85 and a one year high of $262.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.15.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.12. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 8.46%. The company had revenue of $21.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies will post 12.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th were paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $1,638,746,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,677,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,372 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 187,225.6% in the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,111,159 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $438,783,000 after buying an additional 2,110,032 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $430,090,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in 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 worth $581,592,000 after buying an additional 1,831,727 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.