Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Reduces Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC cut its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 85.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 935 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 5,527 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $208,000 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. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 9.8% in the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.8% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 9,734 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $1,629,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 0.4% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 256,098 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $51,780,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 74.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 295 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on LOW. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $218.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $251.60.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded up $1.40 on Friday, hitting $254.73. 2,631,256 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,550,362. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.85 and a 52 week high of $262.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.26. The company has a market cap of $145.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released 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 negative return on equity of 51.42% and a net margin of 8.94%. The company had revenue of $18.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 33.43%.

Lowe’s Companies Company Profile

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.