Ethos Financial Group LLC Acquires 535 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 25.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,615 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,590 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 6,671 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,013 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.67.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 1.8 %

LOW traded up $4.13 during trading on Thursday, hitting $236.20. 1,651,555 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,436,139. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.15. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.85 and a 1-year high of $262.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $239.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.76.

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 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th were issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s 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.