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

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 30th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of 1.15 per share by the home improvement retailer on Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15.

Lowe’s Companies has raised its dividend payment by an average of 24.1% 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 36.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Lowe’s Companies to earn $12.73 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 36.1%.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 1.7 %

LOW stock opened at $276.84 on Tuesday. Lowe’s Companies has a 12 month low of $181.85 and a 12 month high of $287.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $258.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $239.03. The company has a market capitalization of $157.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.56 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on LOW. Oppenheimer upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.60.

Insider Activity

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.