Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,917 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RNC Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 13,122 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,920,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 223,518 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $49,744,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,325,000. Sawyer & Company Inc grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 4,070 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 4,044 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

LOW traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, reaching $253.40. 789,735 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,573,849. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.85 and a fifty-two week high of $262.49. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $231.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.72. The stock has a market cap of $144.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 51.42% and a net margin of 8.94%. The company had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 33.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $190.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $203.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $251.60.

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.