Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Down 0.5% on Analyst Downgrade

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s share price was down 0.5% on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $415.00 to $395.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Home Depot traded as low as $337.63 and last traded at $338.89. Approximately 498,715 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 3,312,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $340.69.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on HD. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Wedbush raised their target price 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 upped their target price on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $417.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.19.

Insider Activity

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. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 3.7% in the third quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 88,444 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $26,725,000 after buying an additional 3,162 shares in the last quarter. Hartline Investment Corp grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Hartline Investment Corp now owns 15,574 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,397,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors now owns 7,513 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,604,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Finally, Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel grew its holdings in Home Depot by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel now owns 2,700 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $819,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.4 %

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 cap of $336.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $360.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $343.54.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.60%.

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.