NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Home improvement retailer Lowe's Cos. reported record second- quarter earnings Monday that topped Wall Street's best expectations for the period, and said it is on target to meet or beat third quarter forecasts.

The No. 2 home improvement chain behind Home Depot, Lowe's posted net income of $467.1 million, or 59 cents a diluted share, in the quarter ended Aug. 2, up from $329.1 million, or 42 cents a diluted share in the year-earlier period. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had a consensus earnings per share forecast of 54 cents, and a range of estimates from 53 to 56 cents.

Overall sales gained 22.2 percent to $7.49 billion, edging First Call's revenue forecast of $7.45 billion.

The company said it expects third-quarter earnings of between 39 to 40 cents a share, on overall revenue growth of 18 to 19 percent. First Call's EPS forecast is for 39 cents, up from 32 cents a year earlier, and revenue of $6.4 billion, which would be up 18 percent from year-ago sales.

Shares of Lowe's (LOW: Research, Estimates) lost $1.15 to close Friday trading at $36.79.