Kestra Advisory Services LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Lowe's Companies by 1.7%, owning approximately $18.57 million worth of shares as of the end of the first quarter.
• Lowe's Companies reported earnings of $4.33 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and achieving $23.96 billion in revenue, marking a 1.6% year-over-year growth.
• In a recent announcement, Lowe's raised its quarterly dividend from $1.15 to $1.20 per share, representing a dividend yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 39.77%.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 79,612 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,355 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $18,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies in the first quarter worth $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on LOW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $280.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $269.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.92.

Lowe's Companies Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE LOW traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $258.77. The company had a trading volume of 2,114,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,715,535. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.38 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The company has a market capitalization of $145.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $231.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.26.

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

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is 39.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction of $10,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 249,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,772,256.30. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by 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.