Brokerages Set Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) PT at $271.60

Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $273.84.

LOW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Melius Research began coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lowe’s Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 3.9% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 813,617 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $220,368,000 after buying an additional 30,740 shares during the last quarter. SSI Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $232,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 241,546 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $65,422,000 after buying an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 27,300 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,394,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 20,757 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:LOW opened at $274.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $155.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $264.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.26. Lowe’s Companies has a twelve month low of $192.10 and a twelve month high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.56 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a $1.15 dividend. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.14%.

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.