Community Bank N.A. Cuts Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Community Bank N.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,441 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 483 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $4,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,930,693 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,271,836,000 after buying an additional 116,855 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,138,824 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,483,733,000 after buying an additional 78,901 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,798,268 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $581,592,000 after buying an additional 1,831,727 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 187,225.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,111,159 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $438,783,000 after buying an additional 2,110,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth $430,090,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LOW shares. Mizuho began coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Monday, March 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays raised their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $203.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $199.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock traded down $3.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $230.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,484,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,520,125. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $181.85 and a one year high of $262.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $239.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

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