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

Key Points

• Lowe's Companies, Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 26 research firms, with an average 12-month target price of $282.91.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.33, exceeding estimates and showing a 1.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Lowe's recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20, translating to a dividend yield of 2.0%, with a payout ratio of 39.44%.

Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $282.9130.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LOW shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Gordon Haskett raised Lowe's Companies to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Lowe's Companies in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st.

Lowe's Companies Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Lowe's Companies stock opened at $242.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $255.26 and a 200 day moving average of $234.91. Lowe's Companies has a 12 month low of $206.38 and a 12 month high of $282.70. The firm has a market cap of $136.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.88.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $23.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.99 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 52.02% and a net margin of 8.20%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.10 EPS. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total value of $2,200,207.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,802,133.74. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total value of $238,938.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 92,931 shares of company stock valued at $24,945,752. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lowe's Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $1,773,624,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies during the 1st quarter worth $681,215,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 2,984.6% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,038,069 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $475,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,971,996 shares during the period. Tableaux LLC purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $282,884,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 22,167.5% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,032,319 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $229,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027,683 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.