Lakeside Advisors INC. Trims Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Lakeside Advisors INC. cut its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,103 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Hamilton Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% in the third quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Abundance Wealth Counselors boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 6,671 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,485,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,013 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,006,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 2.8% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,939 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 4.2% during the third quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.7 %

Lowe’s Companies stock traded down $1.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $228.35. 2,201,031 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,331,366. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.85 and a fifty-two week high of $262.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $239.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.31.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.52.

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.