AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Purchases New Shares in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,151 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $792,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Waterloo Capital L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% in the second quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 3,455 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $767,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC now owns 960 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 21.4% in the third quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 250 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOW has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $325.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $308.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 5th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.81.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of LOW stock opened at $266.93 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $206.38 and a twelve month high of $281.36. The stock has a market cap of $149.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $253.66 and its 200 day moving average is $247.66.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.05% and a negative return on equity of 55.86%. The company had revenue of $20.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.89 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 21st. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.17, for a total transaction of $4,701,060.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 231,043 shares in the company, valued at $60,341,500.31. This represents a 7.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Company Profile

Lowe’s Companies, Inc is a leading home improvement retailer that operates large-format stores and digital channels serving both do-it-yourself homeowners and professional contractors. The company offers a broad assortment of products including building materials, lumber, appliances, tools and hardware, plumbing and electrical supplies, paint, flooring, kitchen and bath fixtures, outdoor and garden products, and home decor. Lowe’s also provides a range of services such as installation, home improvement financing, tool and equipment rental, and contractor-focused sales programs.

Operations are centered on a nationwide brick-and-mortar store network supported by distribution centers and an e-commerce platform that enables online ordering, delivery and in-store pickup.