Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 200 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,500 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $3,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,638,746,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $430,090,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,798,268 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $581,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,727 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $206,912,000. Finally, Aristotle Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 143.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 1,361,716 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $283,019,000 after purchasing an additional 803,216 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LOW shares. Mizuho started coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Zelman & Associates restated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $246.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $251.33.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of LOW traded down $1.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $218.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,662,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,466,242. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $225.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.22. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $181.85 and a one year high of $262.49. The company has a market capitalization of $124.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.08.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.12. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 8.46%. The company had revenue of $21.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 24th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 24th. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.34%.

Lowe’s Companies 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.