Cannell & Co. Acquires 26,220 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Cannell & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 371,534 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 26,220 shares during the period. Lowe’s Companies makes up 2.6% of Cannell & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Cannell & Co. owned approximately 0.06% of Lowe’s Companies worth $82,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $5,890,000. Syon Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 7,129 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,587,000 after buying an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% in the third quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 60,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $12,669,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,724 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $829,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy CG LLC boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Legacy CG LLC now owns 22,948 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,107,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $190.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $238.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Zelman & Associates reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LOW traded down $0.59 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $227.40. The stock had a trading volume of 515,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,470,544. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.85 and a fifty-two week high of $262.49. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $240.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.41. The company has a market cap of $130.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $18.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

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

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.