eCIO Inc. Takes $315,000 Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,352 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on LOW shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $266.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays set a $267.00 target price on Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.13.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE:LOW opened at $272.56 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.38 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $231.63. The company has a market cap of $152.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be paid a $0.012 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $0.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.0%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total transaction of $2,200,207.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,802,133.74. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total value of $238,938.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,462.80. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,121 shares of company stock valued at $13,003,146 in the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lowe’s Companies 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.