Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Grows Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,276 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,937 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,930,693 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,271,836,000 after buying an additional 116,855 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,138,824 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,483,733,000 after buying an additional 78,901 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,798,268 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $581,592,000 after buying an additional 1,831,727 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 187,225.6% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,111,159 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $438,783,000 after buying an additional 2,110,032 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $430,090,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LOW shares. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $190.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $199.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $229.87. The stock had a trading volume of 2,001,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,110,073. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $262.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $239.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.43%.

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.