Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Price Target to $242.00

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $244.00 to $242.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $296.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial set a $264.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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 Thursday. Lowe’s Companies has a 52-week low of $206.39 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $244.56.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Lowe’s Companies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP now owns 4,101 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Saxony Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 994 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 2,163 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Cordatus Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,012 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,705,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.