Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Down 1.2% – Should You Sell?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s stock price traded down 1.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $346.28 and last traded at $351.36. 1,703,551 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 3,196,815 shares. The stock had previously closed at $355.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $467.00 to $437.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $455.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.50.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.0 %

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 50-day simple moving average of $393.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $398.90. The company has a market cap of $349.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Norges Bank bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,032,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,212,546,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Home Depot by 21,394.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,039,862 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $793,486,000 after buying an additional 2,030,372 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Home Depot by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,726,186,000 after buying an additional 1,424,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $471,189,000. 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.