Lowe’s is closing 51 stores

Lowe’s Companies said Monday that it will close 51 underperforming stores, including 20 in the U.S. and as many as 31 in Canada, as part of its plan to focus on its most profitable stores.

The stores being closed are located across 13 states in the U.S. and five provinces in Canada.

The home improvement retailer expects the store closures to be completed by Feb. 1, 2019, which is the end of its fiscal 2018. The company plans to have closeout sales in most of the stores it is shutting, except for some U.S. stores that are closing immediately.

Most employees of the U.S. stores being closed will be provided the opportunity to have similar jobs at nearby Lowe’s stores. The majority of the stores being closed are within 10 miles of another store.

Lowe’s expects the impact of the closures on fiscal 2018 earnings to be 28 cents a share to 34 cents a share, which based on 808.3 million shares outstanding as of Aug. 31 would imply $226.3 million to $274.8 million.

The stock LOW, +0.23% fell 1% in morning trade. It has gained 3.2% year to date, while shares of rival Home Depot Inc. HD, +0.86% have lost 5.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.38% has gained 2.4%.