Analysts are looking for Lowe's to report that its per-share earnings came to $0.24 for the quarter and that revenue totaled $11.3 billion. In the same quarter of last year, the company posted $0.21 per share and $10.5 billion in sales. Note that the EPS estimate was a penny less some 90 days ago. Analysts' forecasts have been within a penny or three of EPS results in the past eight quarters, but Lowe's fell short in just one of those quarters. Looking back to the previous quarter, Lowe's said net earnings came to $225 million, or $0.18 per share, a 44.3% decline from the same period of the previous year. But sales for the quarter increased 2.3% year over year to $11.9 billion The company attributed the disappointing results to restructuring costs and store closings and said it was making changes necessary to “right size” the organization, improve its core business and develop new capabilities and services. But adjusted EPS and revenues were both better than analysts had expected. For the full year, the consensus estimate calls for $1.62 per share earnings, up from $1.44 the previous year. That EPS estimate has also inched up a penny in the past 60 days. And Lowe's full-year revenues are expected to have increased 2.2% year over year to $49.9 billion.

Mooresville, N.C.-based Lowe's Companies is the nation's second largest home improvement retailer, following Home Depot. Lowe's operates more than 1,700 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as offering its products through catalogs and online at Lowes.com The company was founded in 1946 and now is an S&P 500 component with a market cap of $34.0 billion. Competitors include Home Depot, privately owned Menard and Ace Hardware, Sears (NASDAQ:

Lowe's P/E and PEG ratios are less than the industry average. The company has a long-term earnings per share growth forecast of 13.3%, and its operating margin is better than the industry average. Short interest is 1.3% of the float. Of 29 analysts surveyed who follow the stock, 14 rate it a Buy or Strong Buy. Their mean price target on the shares is 4.4% higher than the current share price. Shares have traded mostly between $26 and $28 since the beginning of the year. But the share price has risen 35.1% over the past six months, hitting a 52-week high of $28.46 last week. It is above the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, and the former has acted as support since October. The stock has outperformed Sears over the past six months but has narrowly underperformed Home Depot in that time.