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

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 15th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of 1.15 per share by the home improvement retailer on Monday, February 5th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%.

Lowe’s Companies has increased its dividend 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 dividend payout ratio of 36.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Lowe’s Companies to earn $12.63 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 36.4%.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.4 %

Lowe’s Companies stock traded down $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $269.40. 2,263,829 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,439,940. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $266.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $243.25. Lowe’s Companies has a 52 week low of $196.23 and a 52 week high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.84.

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.