Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Stock

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Barclays from $229.00 to $245.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 7.72% from the stock’s current price.

LOW has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $262.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.92.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE LOW opened at $265.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $150.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $244.50. Lowe’s Companies has a one year low of $196.23 and a one year high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.56 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. This represents a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guardian Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 7,588 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,410 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,769,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 931 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Linscomb Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 13,621 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,470,000 after buying an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.