5 Best Hardware Stocks To Buy Now

3. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 61

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) is a leading American home improvement retailer that provides a variety of products for construction, maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating. The stock is one of the best hardware stocks to buy now, and is offering a forward dividend yield of 1.95% to investors, as of December 6. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) has a strong cash position and has free cash flows of over $7.38 billion.

On December 6, Bernstein analyst Dean Rosenblum took coverage of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) with a Market Perform rating and a $237 price target.

At the close of Q3 2022, 61 hedge funds were bullish on Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) and disclosed positions of $5.35 billion in the company. This is compared to 53 positions in the previous quarter with stakes worth $4.98 billion. The hedge fund sentiment for the stock is positive. As of September 30, Pershing Square was the largest investor in the company and held stakes worth $1.94 billion.

Here is what Baron Funds had to say about Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) in its third-quarter 2022 investor letter:

“Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) is the second-largest home improvement center in the U.S. The company has several competitive advantages including scale, distribution efficiencies, interconnected retail through stores/internet, excellent management, and a strong balance sheet. The company is valued at only 14 times estimated earnings per share versus its long-term average P/E multiple of approximately 18 times estimated earnings per share.

The shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. increased 7% in the most recent quarter following better better-than-expected quarterly business results. Lowe’s is the second largest home improvement center in the U.S. The company has several competitive advantages including scale, distribution efficiencies, interconnected retail through stores/internet, excellent management, and a strong balance sheet. We believe the shares are attractively valued at only 14 times estimated earnings per share versus a long-term average P/E multiple of approximately 18 times estimated earnings per share.”