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Mooresville, North Carolina-based Lowe's Companies, Inc. (LOW) is a leading home improvement retailer with a market cap of $141.3 billion. The company provides a line of products for construction, maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating. Additionally, it also offers installation services, extended protection plans, and repair services.
This home improvement retailer has underperformed the broader market over the past 52 weeks. LOW has gained 3.8% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has soared 16.4%. Moreover, on a YTD basis, the stock is up 1.4%, compared to SPX’s 9.7% return.
Narrowing the focus, LOW has also lagged behind the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLY) 24.8% uptick over the past 52 weeks and 1.8% YTD rise.
Shares of LOW tumbled 1.7% on May 21, despite delivering better-than-expected Q1 results. Both its revenue of $20.9 billion and EPS of $2.92 topped the consensus estimates. However, both the figures experienced year-over-year declines. Compared to the year-ago quarter, the top-line declined 2%, while EPS fell 4.6%. Moreover, its cash flow from operations also decreased 20.7% annually to $3.4 billion, which further raised investor concerns.
For the current fiscal year, ending in January 2026, analysts expect LOW’s EPS to grow 2.4% year over year to $12.29. The company’s earnings surprise history is promising. It topped the consensus estimates in each of the last four quarters.
Among the 30 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy” which is based on 19 “Strong Buy,” one "Moderate Buy,” nine “Hold,” and one “Strong Sell” rating.
This configuration is less bullish than three months ago, with 21 analysts suggesting a “Strong Buy” rating.
On Aug. 13, RBC Capital analyst Steven Shemesh maintained a "Hold" rating on LOW and set a price target of $243.
The mean price target of $267.18 represents a 6% premium from LOW’s current price levels, while the Street-high price target of $305 suggests an upside potential of 21%.
