Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC Has $956,000 Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,296 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 9.8% during the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.8% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 9,734 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,968,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the first quarter worth about $1,629,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.4% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 256,098 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $51,780,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 74.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 295 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LOW shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded Lowe’s Companies from an “average” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $199.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Gordon Haskett reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Zelman & Associates reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded up $1.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $230.24. 2,111,994 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,546,585. The stock has a market cap of $131.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $262.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $239.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.46.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.60 billion for 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%. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.43%.

Lowe’s Companies 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.