ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,871 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 9.8% during the 1st 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 period. United Bank boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 6.8% during the 1st 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 period. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter worth $1,629,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 256,098 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $51,780,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 74.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 295 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $218.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Gordon Haskett reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.6 %

LOW traded up $1.47 on Friday, hitting $230.26. 2,112,198 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,546,613. The firm has a market cap of $131.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $262.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $239.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $218.63.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 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.