Graham Capital Management L.P. Has $2.16 Million Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies by 56.8%, selling 12,220 shares and holding 9,280 shares worth $2.164 million at the end of the quarter.
• Lowe's reported $4.33 earnings per share for the last quarter, slightly beating analysts' expectations, with a net margin of 8.20% and a revenue of $23.96 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.012 per share, reflecting a 0.0% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 39.44%.

Graham Capital Management L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 56.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,280 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 12,220 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $2,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Lowe's Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lowe's Companies by 60.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays set a $267.00 target price on Lowe's Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Piper Sandler upped their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $280.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.13.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW stock traded up $5.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $270.00. 4,488,216 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,710,722. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $237.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.72. The firm has a market cap of $151.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.87. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.38 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $23.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.99 billion. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.20% and a negative return on equity of 52.02%. Lowe's Companies's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.012 per share. This represents a $0.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is 39.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lowe's Companies news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 249,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,772,256.30. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 shares were sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total value of $238,938.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.