Banco Santander S.A. Purchases New Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,366 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $831,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the third quarter worth about $61,000. United Bank lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 10,099 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,735,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 46,499 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $12,594,000 after acquiring an additional 4,977 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mach 1 Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

LOW opened at $242.84 on Monday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $211.80 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $251.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $259.25.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.29 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. Research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LOW. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $292.00 to $285.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.83.

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.