Lowe's Dips 3% Following Inline Q4 Print, 2016 Guidance

Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) were trading lower by more than 3 percent after the company reported its fourth quarter results.

Lowe's said it earned $0.59 per share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $13.2 billion. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $0.59 per share on revenue of $13.1 billion.

Net earnings for the quarter fell to $11 million from $450 million in the same quarter a year ago as the quarter includes a non-cash impairment charge of $530 million related to the company's move to exit its joint venture in Australia.

Related Link: A Buying Opportunity With Homebuilders ETFs

Comparable sales rose 5.2 percent in the quarter, while comparable sales for its U.S. home improvement business rose 5.5 percent.

For the full fiscal year, total sales rose 5.1 percent from 2014's level to $59.1 billion, while adjusted earnings per share rose 21.4 percent to $3.29 and comparable sales rose 4.8 percent for the full year.

"I am pleased that we delivered another solid quarter, driving increased traffic through competitive offers and creating strong value for customers," commented Robert A. Niblock, Lowe's chairman, president and CEO. "We capitalized on increased demand for exterior products as a result of warmer weather, while at the same time helped customers tackle interior projects, allowing us to deliver positive comps in all product categories.

Looking forward to fiscal 2016, Lowe's expects to earn $4.00 per share for the full year which is three cents above Wall Street's expectations.