Hedge Funds Are Cashing Out Of These Stocks As Investors Yank Capital

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

– Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders (as of June 30): 67

– Total Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of June 30): $3.30 billion

– Total Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of March 31): $4.08 billion

A total of 67 hedge funds owned $3.30 million worth of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) shares at the end of the June quarter, compared to 64 funds which owned $4.07 million worth of the company’s stock a quarter earlier. The exodus of cash from the stock is despite it gaining over 5% during the second quarter. Many hedge funds appear to have timed their moves out of it well, as shares have declined by 13% since the end of June. The North Carolina-based retailer reported second quarter EPS of $1.37 on $18.26 billion in revenue on August 17, worse than the consensus analyst estimates of EPS of $1.41 on $18.3 billion in revenue. Comparable-sales grew by 2% in the quarter, half of the expected growth of 4.1%. For its full 2016 fiscal year, theLowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)’s expects EPS of $4.06, inline with estimates. The stock has lost about 5.9% so far this year.

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

– Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders (as of June 30): 63

– Total Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of June 30): $3.03 billion

– Total Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of March 31): $4.00 billion

No less than a net total of 20 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey dumped McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) in the second quarter, while nearly $1 billion was yanked from the stock by the hedge funds in our database. Hedge funds got it right again in this case, as McDonald’s shares have continued to slide since the end of June, despite the company experiencing a rise in its global same-store sales during the third quarter. McDonald’s reported EPS of $1.50 on revenue of $6.42 billion, while the Street was expecting the fast food chain to earn $1.48 per share on $6.27 billion in revenue. Revenue was down by 3% compared to the same year-ago period however, due to the company’s refranchising efforts. The stock is down by 3.94% so far this year.

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Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW)

– Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders (as of June 30): 48

– Total Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of June 30): $2.54 billion

– Total Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of March 31): $3.34 billion

As of the end of the second quarter, 48 hedge funds in our database owned $2.54 billion worth of Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW)’s shares, while 44 funds had $3.34 billion shares of the company a quarter earlier. Last year, Dow Chemical Co and E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (NYSE:DD) announced an all-stock merger of equals, which is expected to close before the end of the year. Given that, it’s not overly surprising to see hedge funds take some capital out of the stock. Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW) earned $0.95 per share in the third quarter, beating the average analyst estimate of $0.85, while revenue of $12 billion was also above the forecasts of $11.24 billion. The stock is up by 5.30% so far this year.