Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Home Depot (NYSE:HD)

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 23,918 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 10% compared to the average daily volume of 21,716 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its position in Home Depot by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,653 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Live Oak Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,912,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Down 3.7 %

NYSE:HD opened at $340.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $338.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. Home Depot has a twelve month low of $323.77 and a twelve month high of $439.37. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $383.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $398.00.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Home Depot from $467.00 to $437.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.85.

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.