Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. Makes New Investment in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,220 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,270,496 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,483,558,000 after buying an additional 259,766 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,979,337 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,952,341,000 after buying an additional 245,876 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth $1,842,954,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,035,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,242,793,000 after buying an additional 323,371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on LOW. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. KeyCorp raised Lowe’s Companies from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $266.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial set a $264.00 price objective on Lowe’s Companies and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.52.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 1.2%

Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $221.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.56. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.39 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.67%.

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.