Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies by 1.8%, holding 230,122 shares worth approximately $51 million after selling 4,244 shares in the second quarter.
• Recent analyst upgrades have increased price targets for Lowe's shares, with KeyCorp raising its target from $266 to $300, reflecting a generally favorable outlook with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Lowe's reported $4.33 earnings per share, beating estimates, but also announced a cut to its quarterly dividend to just $0.012, indicating a strategic shift amidst a challenging market.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 230,122 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 4,244 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $51,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LOW. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.2% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $29,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 8.1% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $3,860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Advent Capital Management DE grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 20.0% in the first quarter. Advent Capital Management DE now owns 18,000 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 12.6% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 29,361 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $6,848,000 after purchasing an additional 3,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 2.3% in the first quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 55,502 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $12,945,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LOW shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $266.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.00.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

NYSE LOW opened at $259.62 on Wednesday. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.38 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $145.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $249.29 and a 200-day moving average of $232.81.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.10 EPS. The firm'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. As a group, analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be given 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 payout ratio is 39.44%.

Insider Activity

In other Lowe's Companies news, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.60, for a total transaction of $11,942,606.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 66,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,145,891.60. This represents a 39.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,931 shares of company stock worth $24,945,752 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Company 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.

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