The news should have been better for home improvement giant Lowe’s (LOW) today. It rolled out the first days of its MyLowe’s member sale, packed with deep discounts on a panoply of household items. But investors were not pleased with the discounts, and sent shares down over 1.5% in Monday morning’s trading.
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The items available will range broadly, and offer up everything from Halloween decorations to appliances at discounts that should impress just about anyone. While some sales may be in the too-little-too-late vein—ceiling fans and patio furniture are probably more aspiration-driven than anything as the colder months are coming on—there is a certain value in preparedness. And those things will be useful when the weather starts warming up again, in about seven months or so.
Some of the deals have much more immediate uses. Some smart home gear, propane patio heaters, and even an air frying convection oven will all have purposes as we go into the colder, and more festive, seasons of the year. So there should be a good mix here to draw in customers and give Lowe’s an edge on its various competitors in the market.
Lowe’s is for the Cats
Meanwhile, remember how Home Depot (HD) seems to be all about dogs? Well, Lowe’s is more about the cats. Just ask the folks in Richmond, Virginia, where Francine the cat has been returned home to Lowe’s after an extended trucking adventure.
Francine was something of a fixture at the West Broad Street Lowe’s store in Richmond, and when she went missing, the staff brought out everything from drones with thermal cameras to video surveillance to find her. But Francine slipped on board a truck heading for the Lowe’s distribution center in Garysburg, a distance of about 85 miles south of Richmond. A block of humane traps—designed to catch and hold animals alive and safe—was set out, and Francine was captured. She was returned home to a grateful Richmond, glad to see her alive and well once more.
Is Lowe’s a Buy, Sell or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on LOW stock based on 17 Buys and eight Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After an 8.26% loss in its share price over the past year, the average LOW price target of $285.87 per share implies 18.07% upside potential.
