Information Provided By:
Fly News Breaks for November 12, 2018
LOW, HD
Nov 12, 2018 | 07:47 EDT
RBC capital analyst Scot Ciccarelli lowered his price target on Home Depot (HD) to $208 from $218 and Lowe's (LOW) to $110 from $123 to reflect the weakness in the U.S. housing stocks amid signs of softness in the broader housing market. The analyst notes that as mortgage rates rise, it is "completely reasonable to expect home sales to slow". Ciccarelli keeps his Outperform rating on both companies however, stating that the more critical aspects to their performance - existing home inventory levels, home price appreciation and PFRI, or Private Fixed Residential Investment, growth - all remain positive. The analyst adds that much of the housing market softness is in the new construction, where the companies have only modest exposure.