MCF Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

MCF Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 15.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 643 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 117 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 15,806 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,026,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 21.3% during the 1st quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 10,284 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,805 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 6,287 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 7,009 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,785,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,447 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $255.00 to $250.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $251.33.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $220.46 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.85 and a 52-week high of $262.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $225.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $21.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.14 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.46% and a negative return on equity of 48.52%. The company’s revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 24th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 24th. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 35.34%.

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.