Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW) Given "Neutral" Rating at Wedbush

Wedbush reissued their neutral rating on shares of Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $250.00 price target on the home improvement retailer's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lowe's Companies from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a market perform rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Lowe's Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Lowe's Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $280.00 target price for the company. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $251.33.

Lowe's Companies Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:LOW traded down $3.75 on Wednesday, hitting $221.11. 2,769,473 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,445,528. Lowe's Companies has a 1 year low of $181.85 and a 1 year high of $262.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $237.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.71. The company has a market cap of $126.52 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.15.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $21.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.14 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 51.42% and a net margin of 8.94%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.43%.

Institutional Trading of Lowe's Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently 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.