First Manhattan CO. LLC. Acquires 8,436 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• First Manhattan Co. LLC has increased its stake in Lowe's Companies by 0.6%, now owning over 1.4 million shares valued at approximately $328.4 million.
• Lowe's reported $4.33 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, while their revenue reached $23.96 billion, slightly below estimates.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend cut, reducing the annualized dividend to just $0.05 per share, resulting in a yield of 0.0%.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,407,893 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,436 shares during the quarter. Lowe's Companies accounts for 1.0% of First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned about 0.25% of Lowe's Companies worth $328,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 60.0% during 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. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe's Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.13.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW stock traded up $5.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $270.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,488,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,710,498. 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 cap of $151.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's 50-day moving average is $237.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.72.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.20% and a negative return on equity of 52.02%. The company had revenue of $23.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.10 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Lowe's Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.200-12.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Lowe's Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total value of $238,938.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were 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 $65,772,256.30. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.