Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Rating Increased to Strong Sell at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on LOW. DA Davidson upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $292.00 to $285.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.83.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE LOW opened at $248.71 on Thursday. Lowe’s Companies has a 12 month low of $211.80 and a 12 month high of $287.01. The company has a market capitalization of $140.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $252.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.89.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.10. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.29 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lowe’s Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LOW. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $866,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth $159,029,000. Finally, Brooklyn FI LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $820,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.