Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Lowe's Companies, Inc. has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from 26 brokerage firms, with 16 analysts recommending a buy, 9 a hold, and 1 a sell.
• The average target price set by analysts for Lowe's stock is $270.68, with varying price objectives ranging from $260.00 to $300.00.
• Lowe's recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.20, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend of $1.15, with an annualized yield of 2.0%.

Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $270.68.

Several analysts have issued reports on LOW shares. Mizuho restated an "outperform" rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Friday, June 13th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lowe's Companies

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 1.2% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $29,223,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 106,305 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $26,236,000 after acquiring an additional 13,092 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $3,860,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Lowe's Companies by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,745,960,000 after acquiring an additional 993,833 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Lowe's Companies by 12.6% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 29,361 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $6,848,000 after acquiring an additional 3,295 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW opened at $238.35 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $223.81 and its 200-day moving average is $231.28. Lowe's Companies has a 12-month low of $206.38 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.89.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.06 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is 39.77%.

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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