Bank of New Hampshire Decreases Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Bank of New Hampshire reduced its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,653 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 315 shares during the period. Lowe’s Companies makes up approximately 1.0% of Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $3,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 85.4% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LOW. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $190.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $231.15. 680,865 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,490,639. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $239.92 and its 200-day moving average is $219.50. The stock has a market cap of $132.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.85 and a 52 week high of $262.49.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 51.42% and a net margin of 8.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 33.43%.

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.