Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Stock Rating Upgraded by Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $305.00 price target on the home improvement retailer’s stock, up from their previous price target of $230.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Monday. They set a buy rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wedbush restated a neutral rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $258.13.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of LOW opened at $266.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $244.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $268.09.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion for 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 for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,334,678.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lowe’s Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LOW. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 142.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 2,385 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 12,647 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,815,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $575,000. 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.