Black Diamond Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Black Diamond Financial LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,640 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Black Diamond Financial LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LOW. Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $55,266,000 after buying an additional 20,181 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 655.9% during the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,304 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,606,000 after buying an additional 5,470 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 215,651 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $58,409,000 after buying an additional 2,322 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 12.7% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,637,000 after buying an additional 2,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 14.4% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 159,742 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $43,290,000 after buying an additional 20,123 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:LOW opened at $270.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $266.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.06. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.23 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.37 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.56 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $305.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $262.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Gordon Haskett cut their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $323.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

About Lowe’s Companies

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.