DA Davidson Issues Positive Forecast for Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Stock Price

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its price target lifted by DA Davidson from $240.00 to $270.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on LOW. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.92.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 1.5 %

LOW opened at $263.03 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $149.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $268.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.36. Lowe’s Companies has a 52-week low of $196.23 and a 52-week high of $287.01.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 41.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $55,266,000 after acquiring an additional 20,181 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 655.9% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,304 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,470 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 215,651 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $58,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,322 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,637,000 after buying an additional 2,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 14.4% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 159,742 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $43,290,000 after buying an additional 20,123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

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.