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Lowe's (LOW) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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Lowe's (LOW - Free Report) closed at $225.95 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.02% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.38%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.05%.

Coming into today, shares of the home improvement retailer had lost 7.19% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector lost 6.47%, while the S&P 500 lost 6.25%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Lowe's as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, Lowe's is projected to report earnings of $1.71 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 28.57%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $20.81 billion, up 2.45% from the year-ago period.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Lowe's should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.07% higher. Lowe's is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Lowe's's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 17.56. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 11.4, so we one might conclude that Lowe's is trading at a premium comparatively.

Also, we should mention that LOW has a PEG ratio of 1.28. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. Building Products - Retail stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.53 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Building Products - Retail industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 34, putting it in the top 14% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow LOW in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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