Lowe's shares fall as Q1 earnings miss analysts' target

Shares of Lowe's fell Wednesday morning after the home improvement retailer issued rising first quarter sales and earnings but missed analysts' target.

With the housing market recovering, Lowe's net income rose 8% year-over-year to $673 million for the three-month period that ended on May 1. That's 70 cents per share vs. 74 cents estimated by industry analysts.

Revenue rose 5.4% to $14.1 billion. Comparable sales for the U.S. home improvement business increased 5.3%

Lowe's said earnings are estimated to total $3.29 per share for the fiscal year that ends on Jan. 29, 2016. Sales will rise 4.5% to 5% this year, it estimated.

Shares of the Mooresville, N.C.-based company fell 6% in pre-market trading to $67.59.

Lowe's, which operates 1,843 stores in North America, said it bought back $1 billion of stock under its share buyback program and paid $222 million in dividends in the first quarter.