Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Price Target Raised to $291.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its target price lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $290.00 to $291.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock.

LOW has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.92.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE LOW opened at $263.03 on Wednesday. Lowe’s Companies has a 12-month low of $196.23 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $268.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.36.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released 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. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.56 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lowe’s Companies

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,010,730 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $7,045,006,000 after buying an additional 2,399,897 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,013,655 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,774,948,000 after acquiring an additional 460,851 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,733,461 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,169,041,000 after purchasing an additional 187,473 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,147,603,000 after acquiring an additional 82,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,369,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $912,508,000 after acquiring an additional 39,953 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lowe’s Companies

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.