Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Shares Down 0.3%

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)’s share price traded down 0.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $258.28 and last traded at $259.47. 220,567 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 2,480,239 shares. The stock had previously closed at $260.14.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.00.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $149.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.32.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 36.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lowe’s Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.2% during the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,894 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Crown Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,813 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 3.5% in the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,331 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.