Bank of America Has Lowered Expectations for Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Stock Price

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at Bank of America from $305.00 to $290.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 17.33% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. DA Davidson upped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.13.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of LOW opened at $247.16 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $252.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $258.86. The company has a market capitalization of $139.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.11. Lowe’s Companies has a 52-week low of $211.80 and a 52-week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth $1,842,954,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,010,730 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $7,045,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399,897 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 350.2% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $585,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846,315 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth $314,435,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 24,531.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,228,102 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $303,096,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223,116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

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.