Shares of Lowe’s Companies LOW, +2.10% rose 0.8% in premarket trading Friday, after the home improvement retailer raised its dividend by 31.3%. The new quarterly dividend of $1.05 a share, up from 80 cents, will be payable Aug. 3 to shareholders of record on July 21. Based on Thursday’s stock closing price of $195.53, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 2.15%, which compares with the yield for rival Home Depot Inc.’s stock HD, +1.87% of 2.51% and the implied yield for the S&P 500 SPX, +2.47% of 1.58%. Lowe’s stock has dropped 24.4% year to date through Thursday, while Home Depot shares have slumped 27.0% and the S&P 500 has lost 14.9%.
