Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading Up 0.2% – Still a Buy?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s stock price was up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $385.10 and last traded at $384.89. Approximately 433,234 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 2,113,816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $384.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Loop Capital raised Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $426.00.

Home Depot Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $387.53 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $406.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $385.33.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The business had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HD. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Home Depot by 36.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 136 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

About Home Depot

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.