Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,827 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 845 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LOW. D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the third quarter valued at $210,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 4.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 649,601 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $175,944,000 after purchasing an additional 24,812 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the third quarter valued at about $222,000. LS Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 3.2% during the third quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,442 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lewis Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 11.4% during the third quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 2,394 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of LOW stock opened at $242.84 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $251.90 and a 200 day moving average of $259.01. The stock has a market cap of $137.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $211.80 and a twelve month high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.29 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. On average, research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LOW shares. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BNP Paribas raised Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.83.

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.