Tradewinds LLC. Purchases New Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Tradewinds LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 2,340 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $601,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. United Bank lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.4% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 10,099 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,735,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $2,073,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,976,000. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 290,107 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $78,575,000 after purchasing an additional 121,058 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 2,869.2% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 67,580 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $18,309,000 after buying an additional 65,304 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.71.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE LOW opened at $233.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $245.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $257.24. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $211.80 and a 1-year high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.10. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The business had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.29 billion. Equities research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 37.67%.

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.