Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Upgraded at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.83.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE:LOW opened at $248.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $140.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $252.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.05. Lowe’s Companies has a 1 year low of $211.80 and a 1 year 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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.29 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. On average, analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Lowe’s Companies

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. StoneX Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the third quarter worth about $2,713,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 4.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 649,601 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $175,944,000 after purchasing an additional 24,812 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 288.6% during the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 19,028 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,696,000 after purchasing an additional 14,132 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 362,209 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $98,104,000 after purchasing an additional 4,435 shares during the period. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 19,830 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,894,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.