Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $5.13 Million Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,988 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 753 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $5,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LOW. Gen Wealth Partners Inc increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 2,163 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,793 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.8% in the first quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 5,817 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.9% in the first quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 865 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,570 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $270.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

LOW stock opened at $238.35 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.28. The company has a market cap of $133.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.89. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.38 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.06 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 39.77%.

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.