Breaking News

Lowe's price target raised to $130 from $120 at Baird. Baird analyst Peter Benedict raised his price target on Lowe's to $130 from $120 following meetings with management. The analyst believes process improvements and cost discipline suggests three-year earnings power of $7-plus per share, which supports his increased price target. Benedict reiterated his Outperform rating on Lowe's shares.

Hurricane checks positive for Home Depot, Lowe's, says Jefferies. Jefferies analyst Jonathan Matuszewskis says his channel checks indicate strong demand for hurricane preparedness products at both Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's (LOW). The analyst, who spent time speaking with sales associates at all the Home Depot and Lowe's locations within a 175-mile radius of Wilmington, North Carolina, continues to believe Lowe's will be the largest beneficiary given its exposure to Wilmington. The comp benefit this quarter could be upwards of 50 basis points with moderating tailwinds into Q4 of fiscal 2019 and Q1 of fiscal 2020 as repairs are made, Matuszewskis tells investors in a research note. He keeps Buy ratings on both Lowe's and Home Depot.

Lowe's still a top pick, shares 'compelling,' says KeyBanc. KeyBanc analyst Bradley Thomas says Lowe's still remains one of his top picks, supported by positive trends in the home improvement category, a near-term tailwind from Hurricane Florence, as well as expectations that new CEO Marvin Ellison will improve productivity and capital efficiency over the next 2-3 years. Thomas, who reiterates an Overweight rating and $125 price target on the shares, notes that Lowe's is planning a sell-side analyst event on September 27, earnings on November 20 and an analyst day on December 12, and will look for Ellison and his team to quantify the opportunities they say. Thomas believes shares are "compelling" given the fundamental growth opportunity he sees for the company, and says shares could see additional multiple expansion if execution improves and comps accelerate.

Lumber Liquidators may be biggest retail beneficiary of Florence, says Wedbush. Wedbush analyst Seth Basham told investors in a research note that Lumber Liquidators (LL) may be the largest potential beneficiary of Hurricane Florence of the five home improvement retailers he assessed, followed by Lowe's (LOW). Basham says he expects Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's could see a 30-70 basis point comp increase in Q3, but that Lumber Liquidators may see a 100+bps comp boost from the hurricane, but that the comp benefit may lag 1-2 quarters based on past precedent. Flooring retailers, including Lumber Liquidators and Floor & Decor (FND), may likely see short-term headwinds from store closures, but benefit thereafter should the hurricanes provide significant flooding as they did for Hurricane Harvey. The analyst expects Tractor Supply (TSCO) to see a "modest" benefit from hurricanes, and says he views Tractor Supply as the most "mis-priced" on hurricane impacts alone while the impact is mostly priced into the other stocks. Basham has an Outperform rating on Floor & Decor and rates Home Depot, Lowe's, Lumber Liquidators and Tractor Supply Neutral.