Avior Wealth Management LLC Cuts Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Avior Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,600 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 233 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,299 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,408,000 after purchasing an additional 6,380 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 3,994 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 6,669 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 14,188 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,158,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 117,999 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $26,261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,511 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on LOW. Gordon Haskett reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised Lowe’s Companies from an “average” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $238.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW opened at $228.86 on Thursday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $181.85 and a one year high of $262.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $239.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $218.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. The business had revenue of $18.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 33.43%.

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.