Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) – Investment analysts at SunTrust Banks boosted their FY2020 earnings estimates for shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, August 21st, according to Zacks Investment Research. SunTrust Banks analyst K. Hughes now expects that the home improvement retailer will post earnings of $5.70 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $5.57. SunTrust Banks currently has a “Buy” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. SunTrust Banks also issued estimates for Lowe’s Companies’ Q4 2020 earnings at $0.92 EPS, Q2 2021 earnings at $2.38 EPS, Q4 2021 earnings at $1.03 EPS and FY2021 earnings at $6.41 EPS.
Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on LOW. Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $119.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $114.00 target price (up previously from $99.00) on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $116.36.
Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $114.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.80, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $103.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.51. Lowe’s Companies has a 1 year low of $84.75 and a 1 year high of $118.23. The stock has a market cap of $88.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.30.
Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $20.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.96 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 111.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share.
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Comerica Securities Inc. raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Securities Inc. now owns 13,753 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,270,000 after buying an additional 818 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,615,529 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $241,571,000 after buying an additional 48,995 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,336,009 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $952,946,000 after buying an additional 728,740 shares during the period. Pennsylvania Trust Co raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Pennsylvania Trust Co now owns 15,275 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,672,000 after buying an additional 1,883 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 9,368 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,026,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.85% of the company’s stock.
In other news, EVP Donald Frieson purchased 2,030 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $98.69 per share, for a total transaction of $200,340.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,980 shares in the company, valued at $1,083,616.20. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.80%.
Lowe’s Companies Company Profile
Lowe’s Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company offers a line of products for construction, maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating. It provides home improvement products in various categories, such as lumber and building materials, appliances, seasonal and outdoor living, tools and hardware, fashion fixtures, rough plumbing and electrical, paint, millwork, lawn and garden, flooring, and kitchens.