Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC Takes Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,311 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,337,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $1,842,954,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 350.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $585,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846,315 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $314,435,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 24,531.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,228,102 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $303,096,000 after buying an additional 1,223,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,960,000 after buying an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LOW. BNP Paribas raised Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $280.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.52.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:LOW opened at $221.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $123.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $244.56. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $206.39 and a twelve month high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.09 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.67%.

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.