BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Acquires 13,550 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,631 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,550 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $26,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $1,842,954,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 350.2% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $585,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846,315 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $314,435,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 24,531.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,228,102 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $303,096,000 after buying an additional 1,223,116 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,745,960,000 after buying an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $227.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $127.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.39 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $224.69 and its 200-day moving average is $245.29.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $253.00 price objective (down previously from $269.00) on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $266.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.17.

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.