New York, December 15, 2006--Lowe's was upgraded to outperform from peer perform at Bear Stearns, which cited the belief that stable long-term interest rates will drive housing turnover, which should boost the home improvement retailer's sales.
Analyst Christopher Horvers said he does not expect another housing boom, but he said it wouldn't be necessary for home improvement stocks to rise. "We believe that investors have set low expectations for near term earnings and have already begun to look through this risk," said Analyst Christopher Horvers in a research note. "While this could create a somewhat better buying opportunity on a dip, we think that exposes us to the risk of being too late as timing the bottom of a cycle is very difficult."
