Still I like bottom fishing her. If anybody has insight on why HD is better than LOWs or vice versus or why they both can prosper I'd be interesting in hearing others views, since I own no retailers outside of index funds.
Well some stats on each: HD LOW
Total Revenue $80B $48B
PE(TTM) 11 11
Debt/Equity Ratio 30.57% 20.81%
Profit Margin 5.58% 6.24%
Earnings Growth-5Yr 16.65% 25.34%
Revenue Growth (TTM) -1.42% +2.07%
Dividend Rate 3.21% 1.45%
Price/Sales Ratio .66 .75
Return on Equity 5 yr Avg 21.28% 20.35%
So they are a lot alike financially, but with some notable differences.
I guess I would favor Low for the lower debt/equity ratio, the higher 5 year earnings growth rate, the higher TTM Revenue growth, similar ROE 5yr rates, and the fact it IS a smaller company ($48B sales vs HD $80B sales---and they have fewer actual stores).
Plus I agree with CFB about personal shopping experiences at the two chains. I like shopping at LOW better than at HD.
I believe both are selling at PE ratios at the low end of their historical PE ranges for the last (at least) 10 years. I doubt either of these stocks is soon going to be "close to worthless" given the above data.
For those looking for some retail coverage in their portfolios, LOW and/or HD look quite reasonably priced for going concerns with excellent financials.