Lowe’s Earnings Fail to Impress Investors

Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) released its fourth-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Wednesday. The company said it had $0.59 in earnings per share (EPS) on $13.2 billion in revenue. Thomson Reuters consensus estimates called for $0.59 in EPS on revenue of $13.07 billion. In the same period of the previous year, the company posted EPS of $0.46 and $12.54 billion in revenue.

In the fourth quarter, comparable sales increased by 5.2%.

At the end of January, Lowe’s operated 1,857 home improvement and hardware stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico representing 202.1 million square feet of retail selling space.

During the quarter, Lowe’s repurchased $562 million in stock under its share repurchase program and paid $257 million in dividends.
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In terms of the outlook for fiscal 2016, the company expects to have $4.00 in EPS, revenues increasing by roughly 6% and comparable sales increasing by 4%. Consensus estimates call for EPS of $3.97 and $61.90 billion in revenue.

Robert A. Niblock, Lowe’s chairman, president and CEO, commented on earnings:

I am pleased that we delivered another solid quarter, driving increased traffic through competitive offers and creating strong value for customers. We capitalized on increased demand for exterior products as a result of warmer weather, while at the same time helped customers tackle interior projects, allowing us to deliver positive comps in all product categories.

He added:

I would like to thank our employees for the incredible contributions they make every day through their hard work and commitment to delivering outstanding customer service. In 2016, we will continue to leverage the favorable macroeconomic backdrop for home improvement, providing customers with complete solutions for their home improvement projects.

On the books, cash, equivalents and short-term investments totaled $712 million at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to $591 million in the same period of last year.

Shares of Lowe’s were down 2.2% at $66,39 Wednesday morning, with a consensus analyst price target of $83.62 and a 52-week trading range of $62.62 to $78.13.