Short Interest in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Decreases By 6.1%

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,570,000 shares, a decrease of 6.1% from the October 15th total of 11,260,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on HD shares. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Daiwa America raised Home Depot to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $426.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total value of $9,030,368.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,343,399.64. This represents a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,700,427 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,767,449,000 after acquiring an additional 433,126 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,426,649 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,819,679,000 after purchasing an additional 205,954 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Home Depot by 51,250.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,779,833 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $35,575,880,000 after buying an additional 8,762,735 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 10.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,679,237 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,516,827,000 after buying an additional 795,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,515,343 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,931,328,000 after acquiring an additional 100,139 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $408.92. 195,727 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,367,003. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $406.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.01. Home Depot has a 12-month low of $302.34 and a 12-month high of $421.56. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $399.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $366.81.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Home Depot will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Home Depot Company Profile

The Home Depot, Inc operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States and internationally. It sells various building materials, home improvement products, lawn and garden products, and décor products, as well as facilities maintenance, repair, and operations products. The company also offers installation services for flooring, water heaters, bath, garage doors, cabinets, cabinet makeovers, countertops, sheds, furnaces and central air systems, and windows.