Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Price Target Raised to $279.00

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its target price increased by Sanford C. Bernstein from $266.00 to $279.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has an outperform rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LOW. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $269.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Lowe’s Companies to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.33.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of LOW opened at $263.5780 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $230.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.89. Lowe’s Companies has a 1-year low of $206.38 and a 1-year high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $23.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.99 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 52.02% and a net margin of 8.20%.Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.10 EPS. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total value of $10,564,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 249,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,772,256.30. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,976,355 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $12,197,604,000 after buying an additional 366,977 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,911,775 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,527,176,000 after buying an additional 207,826 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,351,783 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,732,049,000 after buying an additional 42,190 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,773,624,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,745,960,000 after purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.