XML Financial LLC Sells 136 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

XML Financial LLC lessened its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,389 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 136 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LOW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 worth $13,677,378,000 after buying an additional 2,674,372 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $1,638,746,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,211,131 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $714,637,000 after acquiring an additional 41,451 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 493,180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.96.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

LOW traded up $2.12 on Wednesday, reaching $242.45. 2,676,473 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,540,149. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $262.49. The company’s 50 day moving average is $231.18 and its 200-day moving average is $232.26. The company has a market cap of $138.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.07.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 8.46%. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 24th. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 36.95%.

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.