Home Improvement Retail

Shares of Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW) are lower on the session by 0.23%, currently trading at $25.88. The stock has been moving largely higher over the past four months and is currently trading above the 200-day moving average. Options traders are buying calls on the name today. A short while...

Piper Jaffray is maintaining its Neutral rating and its $28 price target on Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) in its preview of the company's 1Q. In the report, Piper Jaffray writes, “We are maintaining our Q1E EPS of $0.37 (vs. consensus of ~$0.37) but lowering our comp estimate from +0.5% to -1% based on what...

Piper Jaffray is maintaining its Neutral rating and its $38 price target on The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) based upon predicted results in the company's Q1. Says Piper Jaffray, in its report, “We are maintaining our Q1E EPS of $0.50 (vs. consensus of ~$0.50) and our comp estimate of +1% vs. consensus...

Cusick's Corner The market bounced this morning after a brief breach of support, 1340 level for the June S&P and 134 level for the SPY; back up on a weak Buck and the promise of continual economic growth. The short-term market action needs to break current resistance, 1350 on the June future,...

The earnings season is beginning to wind down for another quarter. That can only mean that it is time for some of our favorite shopping mall and strip mall retailers to step into the earnings spotlight. Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) and Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) start things off later this week when they report...

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) are higher on the session by 0.27%, trading at $37.11. Overall call volume is now running at 2.67x the daily average, with 1% of all calls traded being purchases on the offer. 16,474 contracts have traded on the session so far. The Home Depot, Inc. is a...

Here's what Benzinga's reading on our friend, TheStreet.com. What's Hot On TheStreet CEO Porn Loses Allure After Buffett Revelation Warren Buffett held his annual "Woodstock for capitalists" this weekend in Omaha, Neb. The imagery is apt. The annual meeting should really be held in Bethel, N.Y.,...

Here is my list of top defensive plays going into April. If you're looking for some nice defensive stocks to go along with the rest of your long positions in the portfolio, then take a look at the list of stocks below that are more defensive than growth oriented. They are stocks that...

Piper Jaffray has raised the price target on Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL) from $21 to $24 and maintains its Neutral rating.

Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL) Reports EPS $0.20 vs. $0.20 Estimate; Guides FY2011 EPS & Revenues In-Line

Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL), the largest specialty retailer of hardwood flooring in the U.S., today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011, and updated its outlook for 2011. First Quarter Results Net sales increased $8.5 million, or 5.6%, to $159.7 million in...

Goldman Sachs reports that, as it has noted, “the link between housing turns and DIY sales has broken, a point supported by reported 4Q SSS trends for The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD)/ Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW), which outpaced what foreclosure-adjusted sales suggested.” “We remain Buy-rated...

Piper Jaffray is out with its report today on Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL), maintaining Neutral. In a note to clients, Piper Jaffray writes, "We are maintaining our Neutral rating and our $21 PT ahead of LL's Q1 earnings call. We believe LL will announce an estimated -6% comp and $0.21 vs....

On Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW), J.P. Morgan is maintaining its 2011 EPS estimate of $5.00. “We note that 2011 EPS are assisted by roughly $0.10/share in earnings accretion from acquisitions, by our estimate,” J.P. Morgan writes. “We shaved our 2012 EPS forecast from $5.60 to $5.55. Our initial...

1.) Retail With a long a heavy winter, consumer-spending habits will show a bright side along with the warmer weather. Couple this with an improved economic outlook and this should boost retail stocks. The ones to concentrate on will correlate directly with the season. Even without a positive...