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

Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,024 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $5,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LOW. JNBA Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 555.6% during the third quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 118 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 118.6% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 93.3% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 145 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 128.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 178 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $262.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.84.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

NYSE LOW opened at $269.77 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $266.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $243.06. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.23 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The company has a market cap of $153.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a $1.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.14%.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.