Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Lifted to “Outperform” at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $305.00 price target on the home improvement retailer’s stock, up from their prior price target of $230.00.

LOW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Gordon Haskett dropped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Monday. They set a buy rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $258.13.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE LOW opened at $265.68 on Tuesday. Lowe’s Companies has a 52 week low of $181.85 and a 52 week high of $268.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $245.12 and its 200 day moving average is $235.84. The company has a market cap of $151.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 93.3% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 145 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.