Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Has $11.99 Million Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 48,586 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $11,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IFS Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 122 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 555.6% during the third quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 118 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on LOW. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $292.00 to $285.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.83.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 1.3 %

LOW stock opened at $248.71 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $252.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $258.89. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $211.80 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The firm has a market cap of $140.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.11.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.29 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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.