Home Depot Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:HD)

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders bought 23,918 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 10% compared to the typical daily volume of 21,716 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on HD. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $418.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.85.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Home Depot by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 96 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Price Performance

HD stock traded down $12.90 on Monday, reaching $341.00. 4,086,463 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,461,257. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $384.89 and a 200-day moving average of $398.35. The firm has a market cap of $338.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. 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 has a twelve month low of $323.77 and a twelve month high of $439.37.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.66%.

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.