Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys New Shares in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has acquired a new position in Lowe's, purchasing 9,655 shares valued at approximately $2.25 million in the first quarter of 2023.
• Lowe's reported a net margin of 8.22% and a revenue of $20.93 billion for the last quarter, a 2% decrease compared to the same period last year, although earnings per share exceeded analyst estimates.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.20 per share, indicating a commitment to shareholder returns despite fluctuating revenues.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,655 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,252,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 119.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $7,889,000 after purchasing an additional 17,413 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Prudential PLC boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 14,759 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $3,643,000 after purchasing an additional 2,289 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 4,506 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Perennial Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,518 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 target price on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. KeyCorp upgraded Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe's Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $270.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded up $3.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $237.67. The company had a trading volume of 3,107,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,648,738. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.38 and a 12 month high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $133.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.19.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a boost from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.