Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.15

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 21st, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of 1.15 per share by the home improvement retailer on Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%.

Lowe’s Companies has raised its dividend by an average of 14.9% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 53 years. Lowe’s Companies has a payout ratio of 34.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Lowe’s Companies to earn $12.54 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.7%.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Lowe’s Companies stock traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $227.09. 6,352,702 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,540,311. Lowe’s Companies has a 1 year low of $211.80 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The firm has a market cap of $128.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $248.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $257.85.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.29 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on LOW. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Lowe’s Companies stock. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 31.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,078 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.