Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Up 2% – Still a Buy?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s share price was up 2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $361.50 and last traded at $360.37. Approximately 808,632 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 3,191,238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $353.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HD. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.50.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $353.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $395.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $399.08.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Home Depot by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $824,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its holdings in Home Depot by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,653 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,810,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC increased its holdings in Home Depot by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Home Depot by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Home Depot by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during 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.