Promethos Capital LLC Acquires 5,160 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Promethos Capital LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 117.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,560 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,160 shares during the period. Promethos Capital LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 52.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 508,678 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $112,143,000 after purchasing an additional 176,048 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 64,690 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $14,262,000 after acquiring an additional 3,769 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% during the second quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 4,422 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,503 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,300,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.7% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 17,829 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,931,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of LOW stock opened at $261.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $243.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $235.27. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $262.49.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LOW. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut 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 report on Wednesday, August 21st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.33.

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.