Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Upgraded to Hold at Hsbc Global Res

Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) from a moderate sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on HD. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their price target on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.50.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $390.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $387.81 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $401.17 and a 200-day moving average of $398.42. Home Depot has a 52-week low of $323.77 and a 52-week 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Home Depot will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 61.14%.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% during the fourth 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 grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.0% during the third 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 shares of 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 period. Finally, Live Oak Private Wealth LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $1,912,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.