Stevens Capital Management LP Acquires New Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,373 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. IFS Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 122 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LOW shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $307.00 to $296.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.83.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

LOW stock opened at $227.09 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $128.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $257.88. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $211.80 and a 52 week high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.10. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The firm had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.29 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.67%.

About Lowe’s Companies

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.