Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 1,235 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies by 3.0%, holding approximately $9.31 million worth of shares after selling 1,235 during the first quarter.
• Analysts have given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Lowe's stock, with various price targets ranging from $255.00 to $325.00.
• Lowe's recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.15 to $1.20, marking a positive change and indicating a return to shareholders.

Gabelli Funds LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,925 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 1,235 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $9,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 60.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $284.13.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $258.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,177,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,220,431. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.38 and a 12 month high of $287.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.34. The company has a market cap of $144.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Lowe's Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.012 per share. This represents a $0.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.0%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of Lowe's Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total transaction of $238,938.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of Lowe's Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.10, for a total value of $10,564,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 249,043 shares in the company, valued at $65,772,256.30. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,059 shares of company stock worth $11,060,014 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.