Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Lowe's Companies has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating increased analyst confidence in the stock's potential.
• Multiple research firms have increased their target price for Lowe's, with UBS raising it to $325.00, while Robert W. Baird adjusted theirs to $295.00.
• Over the past year, the stock has fluctuated between a low of $206.38 and a high of $287.01, and the company has an average price target of $285.50.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.50.

Lowe's Companies Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE LOW traded down $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $246.24. 2,010,754 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,939,923. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.08. Lowe's Companies has a 1-year low of $206.38 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The firm has a market cap of $138.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.88.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.09. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 52.02% and a net margin of 8.20%.The business had revenue of $23.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.10 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of Lowe's Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total transaction of $238,938.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,741,462.80. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of Lowe's Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total value of $10,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 249,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,772,256.30. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,931 shares of company stock worth $24,945,752 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the second quarter worth $27,000. Solstein Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 627.8% during the second quarter. Solstein Capital LLC now owns 131 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the second quarter worth $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 128.8% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 135 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the first quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

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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