Guardian Capital LLC Makes New Investment in The Home Depot, Inc. $HD

Guardian Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 7,895 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,717,000. Home Depot accounts for 2.4% of Guardian Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HD. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 60.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,143,089 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,109,878,000 after buying an additional 3,836,051 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,635,779 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $34,284,672,000 after buying an additional 1,325,748 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 37.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,806,308 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,542,278,000 after buying an additional 1,040,577 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 215.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,248,615 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $429,648,000 after buying an additional 852,719 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the third quarter worth $284,893,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Home Depot

Here are the key news stories impacting Home Depot this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Telsey Advisory reiterated a Buy rating on Home Depot, suggesting at least one Wall Street firm still sees value in the shares despite recent volatility.
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary has highlighted Home Depot as a potential beneficiary if housing turnover and mortgage-rate conditions improve, which could support future sales and earnings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are watching Home Depot closely ahead of earnings on May 19, with articles focusing on whether pro demand, digital tools, and repair projects can offset a weaker housing backdrop.
• Neutral Sentiment: Jim Cramer said Home Depot can perform well in a lower-rate environment, but also noted the stock needs stronger housing turnover to really accelerate.
• Negative Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein cut its price target on Home Depot to $365 from $390 and kept a Market Perform rating, reflecting a more cautious view on near-term upside.
• Negative Sentiment: A new class-action lawsuit reportedly pressured the stock, adding legal uncertainty at an already sensitive time for investors.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent pre-earnings pullback and broader worries about housing turnover have also weighed on sentiment, helping explain why Home Depot stock has been moving lower.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Home Depot from $422.00 to $421.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Gordon Haskett lowered their target price on Home Depot from $395.00 to $330.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on Home Depot from $391.00 to $348.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Evercore lowered their target price on Home Depot from $425.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, March 27th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $405.66.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD opened at $297.34 on Friday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $296.88 and a 12 month high of $426.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $331.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $354.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.62. The firm has a market cap of $296.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $38.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.01 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 134.32% and a net margin of 8.60%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. Home Depot has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.230-14.799 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a $2.33 dividend. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $9.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.50%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In related news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 2,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.89, for a total value of $940,669.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,566 shares in the company, valued at $16,439,951.74. This trade represents a 5.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Home Depot Company Profile

The Home Depot, Inc (NYSE: HD) is a leading home improvement retailer that operates large-format stores and an integrated online platform offering a broad range of products and services for do-it-yourself consumers, professional contractors and businesses. The company was founded in 1978 by Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Since opening its first stores at the end of the 1970s, Home Depot has grown into a multinational retailer known for its orange-branded stores and wide assortment of home improvement merchandise.

Home Depot’s core business includes the sale of building materials, lumber, tools, hardware, appliances, paint, plumbing and electrical supplies, lawn and garden products, and home décor.