Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Up 1.4% – Still a Buy?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) rose 1.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $406.78 and last traded at $405.47. Approximately 1,119,837 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 3,376,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $400.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price target on Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Gordon Haskett raised Home Depot from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $426.00.

Home Depot Stock Up 2.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $417.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.53, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $403.23 and a 200-day moving average of $368.84.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 61.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total value of $9,030,368.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,343,399.64. The trade was a 51.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 51,250.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,779,833 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $35,575,880,000 after buying an additional 8,762,735 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 33,540.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,478,855 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $509,081,000 after buying an additional 1,474,459 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter worth about $336,231,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 10.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,679,237 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,516,827,000 after buying an additional 795,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter worth about $301,364,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

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.