Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Stock Price

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its price target upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $230.00 to $250.00 in a report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 1.29% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LOW. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Lowe’s Companies to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $266.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.63.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock traded up $4.34 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $246.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 126,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,749,851. The company has a market capitalization of $138.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.87. Lowe’s Companies has a one year low of $206.38 and a one year high of $280.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $237.98.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. 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 analyst estimates of $20.88 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.20% and a negative return on equity of 52.02%. The firm’s 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. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.250-12.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total value of $2,200,207.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,802,133.74. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.60, for a total value of $11,942,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 66,566 shares in the company, valued at $18,145,891.60. This represents a 39.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,306,162 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,898,992,000 after acquiring an additional 329,807 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,036,276 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,291,867,000 after buying an additional 124,501 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,351,783 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,732,049,000 after buying an additional 42,190 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $1,773,624,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,830,080 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,716,467,000 after buying an additional 103,827 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Company 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.