FORA Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

FORA Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 71.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 41,617 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 17,372 shares during the period. Lowe’s Companies accounts for about 1.0% of FORA Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $9,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Solstein Capital LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 627.8% during the second quarter. Solstein Capital LLC now owns 131 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the second quarter worth $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 128.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 135 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOW has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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 research report on Thursday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. 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 report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 5th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.92.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW stock opened at $247.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $138.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $238.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.18. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.38 and a one year high of $274.98.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 55.86% and a net margin of 8.05%.The company had revenue of $20.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 12.250-12.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

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.