Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.10

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 22nd, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of 1.10 per share by the home improvement retailer on Wednesday, May 8th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd.

Lowe’s Companies has increased its dividend payment by an average of 24.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 52 consecutive years. Lowe’s Companies has a dividend payout ratio of 32.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Lowe’s Companies to earn $13.45 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.7%.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE:LOW opened at $230.24 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies has a one year low of $181.85 and a one year high of $262.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $239.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.76. The stock has a market cap of $131.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. The business had revenue of $18.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Lowe’s Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 121.4% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 275,489 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $61,310,000 after buying an additional 151,056 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $184,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 179.6% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,980 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 5,768 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 7,750 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,725,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LOW. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $190.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from an “average” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $218.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.52.

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.