Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Lifted to “Buy” at DA Davidson

DA Davidson upgraded shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $395.00 price objective on the home improvement retailer’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $352.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Home Depot from $425.00 to $400.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Raymond James reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a market perform rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $378.42.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock opened at $344.34 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11. Home Depot has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $338.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $352.60. The firm has a market cap of $341.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.02. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,056.67% and a net margin of 9.79%. The firm had revenue of $36.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.82 EPS. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Home Depot will post 15.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total value of $19,332,841.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,325 shares in the company, valued at $11,503,123.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the third quarter valued at $245,000. Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in Home Depot by 300.3% in the third quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 8,371 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,529,000 after buying an additional 6,280 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. increased its holdings in Home Depot by 0.4% in the third quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 25,743 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,779,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its holdings in Home Depot by 36.6% in the third quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 3,602 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nine27 Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Home Depot in the third quarter valued at $6,043,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.