Gordon Haskett Boosts Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Price Target to $325.00

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at Gordon Haskett from $310.00 to $325.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock. Gordon Haskett’s price target points to a potential upside of 13.10% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $282.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $266.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.30.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of LOW stock opened at $287.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $161.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.83, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $261.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.58. Lowe’s Companies has a 12 month low of $206.38 and a 12 month high of $293.06.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $20.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.88 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 55.86% and a net margin of 8.05%.Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.17, for a total transaction of $4,701,060.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 231,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,341,500.31. This trade represents a 7.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maj Invest Holding A S boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 15.7% in the third quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 802,990 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $201,801,000 after acquiring an additional 108,813 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 420,832 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $105,759,000 after purchasing an additional 49,858 shares during the period. Facet Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $558,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 826,356 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $183,344,000 after purchasing an additional 5,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 497,628 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $110,409,000 after purchasing an additional 89,839 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

About Lowe’s Companies

Lowe’s Companies, Inc is a leading home improvement retailer that operates large-format stores and digital channels serving both do-it-yourself homeowners and professional contractors. The company offers a broad assortment of products including building materials, lumber, appliances, tools and hardware, plumbing and electrical supplies, paint, flooring, kitchen and bath fixtures, outdoor and garden products, and home decor. Lowe’s also provides a range of services such as installation, home improvement financing, tool and equipment rental, and contractor-focused sales programs.

Operations are centered on a nationwide brick-and-mortar store network supported by distribution centers and an e-commerce platform that enables online ordering, delivery and in-store pickup.