Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Stock Price Up 2.6% – Here’s Why

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) rose 2.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $408.00 and last traded at $403.16. 1,656,372 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 2,977,569 shares. The stock had previously closed at $392.78.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $406.44 and a 200-day moving average of $386.94. The company has a market cap of $406.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 4.11 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.

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

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.14%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 directly owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,727,562. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 136 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during 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.