Royal Bank of Canada Raises Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Price Target to $291.00

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its price target upped by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $290.00 to $291.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 10.89% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Gordon Haskett decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Truist Financial raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Loop Capital raised Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.80.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Lowe’s Companies stock traded up $3.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $262.43. 830,062 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,441,403. The company has a market capitalization of $148.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $267.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $244.23. Lowe’s Companies has a 1 year low of $196.23 and a 1 year high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.56 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This represents a 41.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LOW. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,010,730 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $7,045,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399,897 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,013,655 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,774,948,000 after buying an additional 460,851 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,733,461 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,169,041,000 after buying an additional 187,473 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,147,603,000 after acquiring an additional 82,978 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,369,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $912,508,000 after acquiring an additional 39,953 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.