B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Has $6.07 Million Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 20.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,808 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,968 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $6,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE LOW traded up $4.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $245.51. 3,004,762 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,537,927. The firm has a market cap of $139.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $224.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.83. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $262.49.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $21.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.14 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.46% and a negative return on equity of 48.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 24th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 24th. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 36.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LOW shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.04.

Lowe’s Companies Company Profile

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.