Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $390.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Friday, April 5th. DA Davidson reissued a neutral rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Barclays raised Home Depot from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho started coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a buy rating and a $415.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Home Depot from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the company from $311.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $332.89 on Wednesday. Home Depot has a 12 month low of $274.26 and a 12 month high of $396.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $329.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $365.90 and a 200-day moving average of $340.46.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Home Depot will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.60%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,963 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $680,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Optas LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. STAR Financial Bank raised its stake in Home Depot by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. STAR Financial Bank now owns 3,944 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,367,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. raised its stake in Home Depot by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,903 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.