Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Announces $1.15 Quarterly Dividend

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 21st, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a dividend of 1.15 per share by the home improvement retailer on Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%.

Lowe’s Companies has increased its dividend by an average of 14.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 53 consecutive years. Lowe’s Companies has a payout ratio of 34.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Lowe’s Companies to earn $12.54 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.7%.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

LOW stock opened at $227.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $247.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.70. 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 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 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%. Equities analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 119.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,413 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $7,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LOW shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $292.00 to $285.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.83.

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.