By Sam Boughedda
An Atlantic Equities analyst reiterated an Overweight rating on both Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Lowe's Cos. (NYSE:LOW) in a note Thursday, stating the current risk rewards are attractive.
"Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's (LOW) robust 3-yr comp trends, despite cautious commentary from multiple suppliers, are indicative of the companies' unique positions as diversified home improvement retailers, primarily exposed to big-ticket project demand and repair & maintenance activity," said the analyst, who has a $370 per share price target on Home Depot and $300 per share price target on Lowe's.
He added that this demand is "underpinned by >40% house price appreciation in two years and a structurally higher utilisation of the home post-Covid, strong long-term trends should continue."
"While we acknowledge the near-term risk of a recession, we believe the market is already pricing in >10% and >18% EPS declines in FY23 at HD and LOW respectively. However, at the former, we believe a low-single-digit EPS decline is a more realistic downside scenario, while at the latter, flat or even low-single-digit growth is achievable," the analyst concluded.