Gordon Haskett Upgrades Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW) to Hold

Key Points

• Gordon Haskett has upgraded Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW) to a "hold" rating, while multiple other analysts, including Guggenheim and Truist Financial, maintain a "buy" rating with target prices ranging from $264 to $300.
• Despite a recent earnings report showing an EPS of $2.92 that exceeded estimates, Lowe's experienced a 2% drop in year-over-year revenue, highlighting potential challenges for the company.
• Lowe's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $270.68, reflecting a positive sentiment among analysts despite some fluctuations in performance.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Gordon Haskett to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial set a $264.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $270.68.

Lowe's Companies Stock Down 0.5%

LOW opened at $251.86 on Wednesday. Lowe's Companies has a 12 month low of $206.38 and a 12 month high of $287.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.50. The stock has a market cap of $141.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The company's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.06 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lowe's Companies will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Lowe's Companies

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lowe's Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Solstein Capital LLC boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 627.8% in the second quarter. Solstein Capital LLC now owns 131 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 128.8% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 135 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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