Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $271.12.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LOW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. KeyCorp raised 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 note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $296.00 to $269.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th.

Insider Transactions at Lowe's Companies

In other Lowe's Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lowe's Companies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gen Wealth Partners Inc lifted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 2,163 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,793 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,183,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadcap Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 0.5% during the first quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,386 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $2,189,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $224.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $125.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $224.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.13. Lowe's Companies has a fifty-two week low of $206.39 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.06 EPS. Lowe's Companies's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Lowe's Companies will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.11%.

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.

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