Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 8,832 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 426,656 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,832 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $97,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter worth about $681,215,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2,984.6% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,038,069 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $475,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,971,996 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 26,796.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $386,540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,170 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1,048.5% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 739,727 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $172,527,000 after acquiring an additional 675,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $159,029,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE LOW opened at $268.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $150.32 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.87. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $206.38 and a twelve month high of $287.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.31.

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

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.012 per share. This represents a $0.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LOW. Mizuho upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.13.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 43,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.60, for a total transaction of $11,942,606.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 66,566 shares in the company, valued at $18,145,891.60. This trade represents a 39.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total value of $2,200,207.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,802,133.74. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 92,931 shares of company stock valued at $24,945,752. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.