Soros Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. $LOW

Key Points

• Soros Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. by 59.3%, resulting in ownership of only 1,185 shares after selling 1,724 shares during the first quarter.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Lowe's Companies, with Truist Financial setting a new target of $283.00 and Wells Fargo increasing it to $300.00, indicating overall optimistic sentiment.
• Lowe's recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $1.20, representing an annualized payout of $4.80 and a yield of 1.8%, reflecting the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Soros Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 59.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,185 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 1,724 shares during the quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Lowe's Companies in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Lowe's Companies in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lowe's Companies by 60.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW traded up $1.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $258.54. 2,167,073 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,706,684. The company has a market cap of $144.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.38 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The stock's 50-day moving average is $233.78 and its 200-day moving average is $230.46.

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

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,462.80. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,059 shares of company stock worth $11,060,014 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group upped 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 report on Thursday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price 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. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $284.13.

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.