Why These 4 Lowe's Analysts Were Encouraged By Q1 Earnings

Lowe's Companies Inc (NYSE: LOW) missed Street expectations for quarterly sales but still managed to convincingly beat earnings estimates.

KeyBanc Capital Markets On Lowe's Companies: Analyst Bradley Thomas maintained a Sector Weight rating on Lowe's. 

The company reported upbeat earnings, “driven by gross margin improvement, SG&A leverage, and a lower-than-expected tax rate,” Thomas said in a note. “Encouragingly, the Company delivered 20% growth in Pro,” he added.

“We remain positive on LOW’s near-term performance but believe deteriorating macro and housing trends remain a risk, as evidenced in our survey work,” the KeyBanc analyst wrote.

Morgan Stanley On Lowe's Companies: Analyst Simeon Gutman maintained an Overweight rating with an unchanged $280 price target. 

Despite healthy margins, the latest quarterly print “probably doesn’t change” the narrative for either Lowe's Companies or the home improvement segment, Gutman said in a note to clients.

“Sales should sequentially improve for LOW throughout ’22 though margin expansion may moderate,” he added.

Raymond James On Lowe's Companies: Analyst Bobby Griffin reiterated a Market Perform rating.

The company is capable of continuing to “manage the rising cost environment much better than years past with their improved pricing strategies and labor management tools,” Griffin said in a note.

“We also anticipate LOW to continue to take market share in FY22 with growing private label penetration and revamped Pro loyalty program,” he added.

Telsey Advisory Group On Lowe's Companies: Analyst Joseph Feldman maintained an Outperform rating with an unchanged $250 price target. 

While investors would have liked to see Lowe's Companies raising its outlook after the earnings beat in the first quarter, the company is “accelerating investments with a long-term focus from a position of strength to fuel sales and profitability while capitalizing on home improvement industry trends that continue to be favorable,” Feldman wrote in the note.

LOW Price Action: Shares of Lowe's Companies were trading 2.09% higher at $187.84 Thursday morning, according to Benzinga Pro.