Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Up 0.3% – Still a Buy?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares traded up 0.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $414.45 and last traded at $410.58. 1,241,506 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 3,026,669 shares. The stock had previously closed at $409.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HD shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $407.06 billion, a PE ratio of 27.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $406.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $386.78.

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

Home Depot Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction of $9,030,368.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,343,399.64. This trade represents a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of Home Depot 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 27,155 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $9,348,000 after buying an additional 5,879 shares during the period. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Home Depot by 1.8% in the third quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,994 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 51.4% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $368,542,000 after purchasing an additional 132,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

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.