First National Bank of Omaha Invests $8.02 Million in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

First National Bank of Omaha acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 31,893 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $8,015,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 119.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $7,889,000 after acquiring an additional 17,413 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 31.6% during the 4th 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 period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. United Bank grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 12,124 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,690,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 13.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,378 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LOW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $282.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $284.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. HSBC decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $263.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.17, for a total transaction of $4,701,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 231,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,341,500.31. This trade represents a 7.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LOW opened at $280.80 on Wednesday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.38 and a 1 year high of $293.06. The firm has a market cap of $157.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $262.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.73.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $20.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.88 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 55.86% and a net margin of 8.05%.The company’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Company Profile

Lowe’s Companies, Inc is a leading home improvement retailer that operates large-format stores and digital channels serving both do-it-yourself homeowners and professional contractors. The company offers a broad assortment of products including building materials, lumber, appliances, tools and hardware, plumbing and electrical supplies, paint, flooring, kitchen and bath fixtures, outdoor and garden products, and home decor. Lowe’s also provides a range of services such as installation, home improvement financing, tool and equipment rental, and contractor-focused sales programs.

Operations are centered on a nationwide brick-and-mortar store network supported by distribution centers and an e-commerce platform that enables online ordering, delivery and in-store pickup.