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

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s stock price traded up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $409.97 and last traded at $409.76. 499,056 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 3,359,299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $408.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on HD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America raised their price target on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $426.00.

Home Depot Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $399.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.03. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $411.73 and its 200 day moving average is $379.79.

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

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.14%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HD. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 1.5% in the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 6,010 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,069,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 1.0% in the second quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 13,708 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,719,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Stableford Capital II LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 6.0% in the second quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 2,558 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC now owns 6,772 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,331,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 11,238 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,869,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. 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.