Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 250 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 268,900 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Lowe’s Companies accounts for approximately 2.0% of Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $59,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 119.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,889,000 after purchasing an additional 17,413 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 15.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,106 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $419,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $840,000. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOW has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.91.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of LOW stock opened at $242.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $136.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.91. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.38 and a 1 year high of $282.70.

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

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.20, for a total transaction of $238,938.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,099 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,462.80. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Brandon J. Sink sold 8,192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.58, for a total value of $2,200,207.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,802,133.74. The trade was a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,931 shares of company stock valued at $24,945,752 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.