Lowe’s Cos. (NYSE:LOW)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by Zacks in a note issued to investors on Thursday, American Banking and Market News reports. They currently have a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks‘ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 4.71% from the stock’s previous close.
Zacks‘ analyst wrote, “Thanks to the recovering housing market, Lowe’s posted strong second-quarter fiscal 2013 results. Both the top and bottom line improved significantly and comfortably surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Lowe’s raised its outlook for fiscal 2013 and now expects sales to rise by nearly 5% and comparable store sales by about 4.5%. Further, management expects earnings to be $2.10 per share, up from $2.05 forecasted earlier for FY13. Lowe’s is expanding into high-growth markets, which bring significant opportunities to improve its top line and profitability. We remain positive on the company’s strategic initiatives and expect its merchandising resets and focus on enriching customer-shopping experience to help generate higher sales. However, we maintain our Neutral recommendation on Lowe’s as spending on big remodeling projects will likely remain under pressure until the housing market fully stabilizes, inventory levels normalize and consumer-spending rebounds. “
Lowe’s Cos. (NYSE:LOW) traded up 1.80% during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $48.61. The stock had a trading volume of 5,038,455 shares. Lowe’s Cos. has a one year low of $29.34 and a one year high of $48.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $45.85 and its 200-day moving average is $41.95. The company has a market cap of $51.127 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45.
Lowe’s Cos. (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $15.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Lowe’s Cos. will post $2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Analysts at TheStreet reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lowe’s Cos. (NYSE:LOW) in a research note to investors on Monday. Finally, analysts at Argus raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Cos. (NYSE:LOW) from $48.00 to $54.00 in a research note to investors on Tuesday, August 27th. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.63.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st.
Lowe’s Companies, Inc (NYSE:LOW) is a home improvement retailer.
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