Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Purchases 295 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,742 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the third quarter worth $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 85.4% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $203.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $238.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $199.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 1.1 %

Lowe’s Companies stock traded down $2.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $228.31. 619,377 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,472,254. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $240.06 and its 200-day moving average is $220.18. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.85 and a 12 month high of $262.49. The stock has a market cap of $130.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.55, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 51.42% and a net margin of 8.94%. The company had revenue of $18.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 33.43%.

Lowe’s Companies 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.