Lowe's Undervalued After Earnings Miss

Labor changes continue to pressure operating margins at the wide-moat retailer more than management had anticipated.

Securities In This Article
Lowe's Companies Inc
(LOW)

Wide-moat

After incorporating this quarter’s results into our model, we don’t plan any material change to our $93 fair value estimate, and we view shares as undervalued. Our prior 2017 forecast included sales growth of 5% and same-store sales of 3.5%, which should remain in place. Lowe’s commentary that July same-store sales of 7.9% were on the upswing over the second quarter was positive, but guidance of 3.5% same-store sales for the year indicate the second half could deliver same-store sales of 3.5%-4%. Our long-term outlook includes same store sales that slow to a 2% pace, supporting low-single-digit revenue growth and slight annual operating margin expansion, leading to operating margins of 12% over the next decade.

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About the Author

Jaime M. Katz, CFA

Senior Equity Analyst
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Jaime M. Katz, CFA, is a senior equity analyst for Morningstar Research Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. She covers home improvement retailers and travel and leisure.

Before joining Morningstar in 2011, Katz was an associate for Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank. She also worked in equity research for William Blair for three years and spent three years in asset management at Mesirow Financial.

Katz holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. She ranked first in the leisure goods and services industry in The Wall Street Journal’s annual “Best on the Street” analysts survey in 2013, the last year the survey was conducted.

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