UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Maintains Lowe's at Neutral Rating and Raises PT on In-Line Guidance

In a report published Tuesday, Piper Jaffray maintained Lowe's

at Neutral and raises price target from $37.67 to $41.00. Piper Jaffray reported that, “LOW Q4 comp of 1.9% was better than expected (consensus was 0.75%) and showed very nice acceleration on a 2- and 3-year stack basis. Importantly, comp trends strengthened in Dec/Jan as each month comped +3% despite meaningfully tougher compares. The transaction comp was slightly negative (and a modest disappointment), but the 2-year transaction trend accelerated from previous quarters as the y/y weather compare was difficult. All in, Q4 results did nothing to disprove our thesis that a multi-year home remodeling cycle is gaining strength heading into 2013 and we look for the industry backdrop to become a more positive driver in the coming months.” Lowe's shares closed at $35.86 on Monday.