Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

HD has been the subject of several other research reports. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $415.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:HD opened at $335.09 on Wednesday. Home Depot has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year high of $396.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $332.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $364.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $340.97.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Home Depot will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction 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. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 0.5% during the third quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 33,690 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $10,180,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Clarus Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 9.5% during the third quarter. Clarus Group Inc. now owns 1,814 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. McBroom & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 4.2% during the third quarter. McBroom & Associates LLC now owns 15,635 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,724,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Trust increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.8% during the third quarter. Legacy Trust now owns 8,483 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,563,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.7% during the third quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,423 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $12,214,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.