GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $619,000 in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,906 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $619,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 187,225.6% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,111,159 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $438,783,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110,032 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $430,090,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,798,268 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $581,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,727 shares during the last quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 143.8% during the third quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 1,361,716 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $283,019,000 after purchasing an additional 803,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the third quarter valued at $144,530,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LOW. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $203.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 research report on Friday, February 16th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 1.8 %

LOW stock traded down $4.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $229.39. 681,476 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,509,414. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.35. 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 announced its 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 net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. The company had revenue of $18.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.43%.

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.