Townsend & Associates Inc Invests $216,000 in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Townsend & Associates Inc bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,028 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 85.4% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:LOW traded up $4.01 on Thursday, reaching $236.08. 740,398 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,425,396. The firm has a market cap of $135.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $240.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.68. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.85 and a 12 month high of $262.49.

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

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th were paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 33.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on LOW. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $238.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $218.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $190.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.67.

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.