Americans are gearing up for a three-day holiday weekend on Friday. But for Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD ) investors, Memorial Day Weekend is all business.

According to Bank of America analyst Elizabeth Suzuki, this year's Memorial Day weekend will be particularly important for Home Depot and Lowe's Companies ( LOW ) after bad weather in parts of the U.S. weighed on home improvement sales in the first quarter of the year.

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Home Depot reported first-quarter same-store sales growth well below analyst expectations, but analysts are hopeful that home improvement projects that were impacted by the weather were simply delayed until later in the year.

Suzuki says Memorial Day weekend sales offer an excellent opportunity for shoppers to get caught up on those home improvement plans, and Memorial Day could get the stocks headed higher in the near term.

"Following a cold start to spring, we think home improvement retailers such as Home Depot and Lowe's could see very strong spending over the weekend, which may push the stocks higher as spending and channel-check data filters in through the week," Suzuki says.

Suzuki says headlines about Home Depot "blaming the weather" for missing sales expectations in the first quarter were misleading because the blame should have been placed on analysts who failed to adjust their estimates based on the weather. Suzuki says management's claims that May same-store sales growth is trending in the double digits is evidence that first-quarter projects were simply pushed back to the second quarter.

The fact that management reiterated its full-year guidance is further evidence that the weak first quarter is of no concern to long-term Home Depot investors.

"Medium- to long-term stability in comps will be driven by the continued strength in existing home turnover and home price appreciation, spurred by the beginning stages of the millennial generation's entry into the housing market," Suzuki says.

[See: 10 Stocks That Have Doubled Their Dividend in 10 Years .]

If Suzuki is correct, Home Depot investors can expect a strong week ahead for HD stock and continued positive momentum in the longer-term.

Bank of America has a "buy" rating and $219 price target for HD stock .

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