Lowes Companies Inc.

LOW-N

This looks great, just like Home Depot. You can enter it here, though hold it if you own.

(Past Top Pick April 17, 2018, Up 15%) Them and Home Depot occupy half the home improvement market. Secular tailwinds are attractive. Handyman skills are declining among consumers, so Lowe's business of sending contractors to houses is growing (and buying supplies for these projects from Lowes). Big share buybacks and heavy free cash flow. Good balance sheet. If there's an economic downturn, yes, their business will get hit, but Lowes will sustain this rough patch.

There's a growing transition to do-it-for-me as society ages. so their in-house contracting business is growing and--guess what--they'll buy Lowe's products. Lowe's has been a little behind Home Depot in growth, but Lowe's is cheaper with more upside with lots of free cash flow. (Analysts' price target $105.86)

(A Top Pick Oct 13/16, Up 24%) HD-N is the number one player. He thinks if there is room for improvement here then he would go into this one. It does not have the premium valuation of HD-N.

They have strong management and good cash flows. The price has come down but she does not recommended adding it. It will be challenging next year. We need to see a lot more new housing construction. It will do well and at least keep up with the market, however.

(Market Call Minute.) He is very interested in looking at this as millennials are starting to move out of their parents’ houses. This could be a big beneficiary.

It is incredible how well they have done, second to HD-T. So far Amazon cannot do anything to kill them. The stuff they sell is heavy to ship. They have done a great job of returning capital to shareholders, but he has other ideas.

Home Depot (HD-N) or Lowe’s (LOW-N)? Home Depot is about 3 to 4 times the size of this company’s, and their store count dwarfs them. Home Depot is down about 6%-7% this year where Lowe’s is having a better time of it. However, going back 5 years, Home Depot has been a better, smoother experience. This is a tough call, but knows that Home Depot’s footprint is a bit higher.

Home Depot (HD-N) or Lowe’s (LOW-N)? On a purely statistical basis and EPS growth, this one is the better one. However, standing back and looking at the corporate culture and corporate philosophy, he prefers Home Depot.

New US home starts are strong, and most States have growth of around 10% year-over-year, but the stocks are not behaving. He would prefer to see this group get engaged before putting new money here. Also, would prefer Home Depot (HD-N), which is better at driving market share.

This one is coming on and improving their operations. They expanded their presence in Canada by buying Rona. They are in Canada, Mexico and the US. As millennials move out of parents’ basements, this stock should do well.

Just sold his Home Depot (HD-N) holdings, which is a wonderful company with a great web presence. It is growing home-store sales without opening any new stores. However, it is too expensive. Lowes is a sister company and is following up a little. Has a decent dividend, but with a little more dependence on selling appliances. Just because it is a good asset doesn’t mean it is a good investment.