Home Depot Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:HD)

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 23,918 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 10% compared to the typical daily volume of 21,716 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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, February 26th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $435.85.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD traded down $12.90 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $341.00. 4,086,463 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,461,257. The stock has a market capitalization of $338.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $384.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $398.35. 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 52 week low of $323.77 and a 52 week high of $439.37.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

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