Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading Down 1.2% – Time to Sell?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares were down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $363.35 and last traded at $363.61. Approximately 675,690 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 3,313,861 shares. The stock had previously closed at $368.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HD shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Home Depot from $455.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on 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. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.50.

Home Depot Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $344.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $398.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $399.42.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Home Depot by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $37,251,142,000 after buying an additional 875,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,957,463 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $8,525,046,000 after buying an additional 257,036 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,032,910,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Home Depot by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,455,582 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,845,098,000 after buying an additional 647,552 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Home Depot by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,726,186,000 after buying an additional 1,424,857 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.