Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW Holdings Boosted by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 15.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,644 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,572 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $6,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LOW. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.8% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 40,545,728 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,939,928,000 after purchasing an additional 714,092 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,329,373 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,584,873,000 after purchasing an additional 880,815 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,104,782 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $905,063,000 after purchasing an additional 57,167 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 57.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,892,868 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $637,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,646,320 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $388,992,000 after purchasing an additional 109,520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Lowe’s Companies

These are some of the LOW stories that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Lowe’s is partnering exclusively with Bilt, connecting its products, rewards and home services to Bilt’s 8 million members through the Bilt app. The expanded loyalty and customer-reach opportunity could support sales. Article: Lowe’s Ties Rewards and Home Services to an 8 Million Member Platform
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst previews point to a possible third-quarter earnings beat, citing an Earnings ESP of +0.59%, Pro demand and digital growth. Lowe’s is scheduled to report on Nov. 18; the results and management’s outlook may be more consequential than the beat potential alone. Article: What’s Lowe’s Probability of an Earnings Beat This Season?
• Negative Sentiment: The immediate pressure appears to reflect a pullback after LOW reached its highest level since May and its recent rally stalled. Earnings previews also flag housing-market weakness and cost pressures, while one analysis expects a mixed home-renovation outlook and describes the shares as fairly valued—potential reasons investors may be cautious ahead of results. Article: Bearish Sentiment Could Give Out Ahead of Lowe’s Earnings Article: Lowe’s Q3 Preview

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Evercore set a $190.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $276.00 to $274.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.74.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of LOW stock opened at $227.66 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $178.45 and a 12-month high of $293.06. The company has a market capitalization of $127.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $199.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.22.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $25.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.13 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 75.67% and a net margin of 7.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.33 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.250-12.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 21st were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 21st. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.27%.

Lowe’s Companies Company Profile

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. is a home improvement retailer serving homeowners, do-it-yourself customers and professional contractors. The company sells products for construction, maintenance, repair and renovation through its retail stores and online channels. Its offerings include appliances, tools, hardware, lumber and building materials, paint, plumbing and electrical supplies, and products for lawn and garden. Lowe’s also provides services such as installation and other project support. Founded in 1921 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, Lowe’s has grown into a major retailer operating across the United States.