Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stock Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Lowe's Companies by 33.2% in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 54,922 shares valued at $12.8 million.
• Insider selling was notable as EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares and CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares, representing a decrease of 27.49% and 13.84% in their respective ownerships.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for Lowe's, with a consensus price target now at $284.13, reflecting optimism about the stock's performance.

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 33.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,922 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 13,677 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $12,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies in the 1st quarter worth $681,215,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Lowe's Companies by 2,984.6% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,038,069 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $475,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,971,996 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Lowe's Companies by 26,796.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $386,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,170 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Lowe's Companies by 1,048.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 739,727 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $172,527,000 after purchasing an additional 675,318 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $159,029,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LOW shares. Mizuho increased their price target on Lowe's Companies from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Lowe's Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Lowe's Companies from $269.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Lowe's Companies from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.13.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

LOW stock traded up $6.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $272.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,253,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,870,370. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $206.38 and a twelve month high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50-day moving average price is $242.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.63.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $23.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.99 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 52.02% and a net margin of 8.20%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.10 EPS. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.012 per share. This represents a $0.05 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is currently 39.44%.

Insider Transactions at Lowe's Companies

In other news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total transaction of $10,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 249,043 shares in the company, valued at $65,772,256.30. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total value of $238,938.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,121 shares of company stock worth $13,003,146 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies 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.