Lowe's Companies Inc. Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (LOW)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of B+ . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, increase in net income, revenue growth, reasonable valuation levels and good cash flow from operations. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally high debt management risk by most measures that we evaluated.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• Powered by its strong earnings growth of 94.44% and other important driving factors, this stock has surged by 49.63% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Regarding the stock's future course, although almost any stock can fall in a broad market decline, LOW should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed a very nice gain in the past year.
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Specialty Retail industry. The net income increased by 75.5% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $225.00 million to $395.00 million.
• LOW's revenue growth trails the industry average of 21.5%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 1.9%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
• Net operating cash flow has increased to $712.00 million or 18.86% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, LOWE'S COMPANIES INC has also modestly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of 13.06%.

Lowe's Companies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer. It offers a range of products for maintenance, repair, remodeling, and home decorating. Lowe's Companies has a market cap of $39.41 billion and is part of the services sector and retail industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 20.6, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 36.1% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.

You can view the full Lowe's Companies Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

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• Lowe's Companies Inc. Income Statement