Providence Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 106.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 651 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,677,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,372 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,851,127 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $634,518,000 after buying an additional 52,859 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $468,884,000 after buying an additional 493,180 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,617,849 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $356,671,000 after buying an additional 90,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,516,347 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $337,463,000 after buying an additional 194,070 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LOW shares. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com raised Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $264.00 to $262.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve investment 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.00.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

LOW stock opened at $262.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $244.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.47. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.85 and a 52-week high of $262.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10.

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. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a $1.15 dividend. 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 yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 36.95%.

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.