Empirical Finance LLC Grows Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,826 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $5,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $1,638,746,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $430,090,000. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $206,912,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $126,615,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 126.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 865,867 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $192,699,000 after buying an additional 483,216 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com cut Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Mizuho started coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.41.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE LOW traded up $4.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $234.08. 3,168,920 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,545,545. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $222.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.97. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $262.49. The firm has a market cap of $133.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $21.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.14 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.46% and a negative return on equity of 48.52%. The company’s revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 24th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 24th. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 35.34%.

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.