Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Has $1.72 Million Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,789 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,813 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 3.1% in the first quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,509 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 0.6% during the second quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 7,549 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,664,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Bank increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% in the second quarter. Exchange Bank now owns 2,315 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LOW. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.04.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

LOW opened at $250.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $142.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.07. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.85 and a fifty-two week high of $262.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $232.46 and a 200 day moving average of $232.93.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.46% and a negative return on equity of 48.52%. 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 prior year, the firm earned $4.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 24th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 24th. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.95%.

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.