Empowered Funds LLC Sells 18,523 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 40.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,218 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 18,523 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $6,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $1,638,746,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $430,090,000. Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $206,912,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $126,615,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 126.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 865,867 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $192,699,000 after acquiring an additional 483,216 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LOW. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Gordon Haskett reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com cut Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.04.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

NYSE LOW opened at $234.08 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.85 and a 52-week high of $262.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $228.08. The stock has a market cap of $133.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.08.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $21.36 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 24th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.26%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.34%.

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.