Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on LOW. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.33.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $261.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.27. Lowe’s Companies has a 52-week low of $181.85 and a 52-week high of $262.49. The firm has a market cap of $148.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. The firm 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 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The company’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,674,372 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 20,275.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,205,014 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,100 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $217,995,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $126,615,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $468,884,000 after buying an additional 493,180 shares during the period. 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.