Values First Advisors Inc. Has $888,000 Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Values First Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,990 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the quarter. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 33.7% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,345 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 100.4% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,158 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,492,000 after acquiring an additional 15,612 shares during the last quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% in the third quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 60,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $12,669,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,950 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the third quarter worth $40,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $238.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $251.60.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:LOW traded up $1.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $254.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,631,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,550,362. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.85 and a fifty-two week high of $262.49. The company has a market capitalization of $145.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $232.18 and a 200-day moving average of $215.99.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $18.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. The company’s revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 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.