Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Price Target to $252.00

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its price target decreased by Royal Bank Of Canada from $260.00 to $252.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $325.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI restated a “positive” rating on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $282.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.75.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of LOW stock opened at $234.12 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $131.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.87. Lowe’s Companies has a 1 year low of $206.38 and a 1 year high of $280.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.49.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $20.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.88 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 52.02% and a net margin of 8.20%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.250-12.250 EPS. Analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 21st. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total value of $238,938.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total value of $2,200,207.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,603 shares in the company, valued at $5,802,133.74. This represents a 27.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,931 shares of company stock worth $14,381,752. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,773,624,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter worth $681,215,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 102.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,204,311 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,056,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,122,622 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 2,984.6% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,038,069 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $475,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,971,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 207.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,058,086 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $517,218,000 after buying an additional 1,388,133 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

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.