AlphaCore Capital LLC Increases Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Key Points

• AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. by 387.7% during the 1st quarter, owning 6,262 shares valued at approximately $1.46 million.
• Lowe's reported a quarterly EPS of $2.92, surpassing analysts' expectations, but revenue of $20.93 billion fell short of estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.20 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $4.80 with a yield of 2.0%.

AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 387.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,262 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after buying an additional 4,978 shares during the quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $1,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 119.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $7,889,000 after purchasing an additional 17,413 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 2,962.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 98,000 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $24,186,000 after acquiring an additional 94,800 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 17,386 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,291,000 after acquiring an additional 4,280 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Yale Capital Corp. grew its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 4,895 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on LOW shares. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe's Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $270.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lowe's Companies Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of LOW traded up $5.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $245.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,329,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,648,000. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.89. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.38 and a 1-year high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.06 EPS. Lowe's Companies's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is 39.77%.

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.