Lowe's Stock Price Target Cut by Bernstein Amid Delayed Home Improvement Recovery

Bernstein SocGen Group cut its price target for Lowe's Companies (LOW) to $254 from $261, while maintaining an Outperform rating. The stock currently trades at $200.80, near its 52-week low of $199.34, down 24% over the past year.

The firm attributed this decision to a delayed home improvement recovery, which it believes will be pushed further out than previously expected. According to Bernstein, the latest data suggests that the timing of the rebound remains uncertain, but the long-term need for renovation persists due to the rising median age of U.S. owner-occupied houses, now at 42 years.

Macroeconomists are now projecting rate hikes rather than rate cuts, which will not help improve housing turnover or the affordability of home improvement projects. Lowe's trades at approximately a 4.5 times discount to Home Depot (HD), compared with the long-term average of around 3 times.