Lowe’s shares rose more than 3 percent Wednesday after the company announced a $10 billion stock buyback program and issued its financial targets for fiscal 2019.
The home improvement retailer reiterated its current earnings forecast for fiscal 2018, and said earnings per share would rise to a range of $6.00 and $6.10 for fiscal 2019. Analysts were calling for earnings per share of $5.90, according to FactSet data.
Lowe’s shares were halted for news pending when they were down about 1.5 percent. The stock started trading again right before noon ET Wednesday and was last up about 3.5 percent on the news.
During a meeting with investors, CEO Marvin Ellison walked through the steps Lowe’s is taking to continue to grow sales and compete with rival Home Depot. That includes shutting unprofitable stores and investing in e-commerce.
“We anticipate that targeted initiatives designed to drive profitable sales, combined with an expense reduction culture, will allow us to generate significant cash flow from operations over the next three years,” Lowe’s CFO David Denton said in a statement. “We are committed to investing in the business while also returning excess cash to shareholders, and strongly believe we can deliver substantial value to all stakeholders.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
