Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading 1.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shot up 1.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $406.78 and last traded at $405.47. 1,119,837 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 3,376,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $400.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $377.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.00.

Home Depot Trading Up 1.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $404.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $401.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $368.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

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

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction of $9,030,368.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,343,399.64. This represents a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HD. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter worth $46,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.