Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading 0.3% Higher

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) traded up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $336.00 and last traded at $333.03. 482,631 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 3,306,985 shares. The stock had previously closed at $331.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $331.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $363.04 and its 200 day moving average is $341.81.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.60%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,936 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,661,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its stake in Home Depot by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 28,843 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $11,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Home Depot by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 174,827 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $67,064,000 after acquiring an additional 8,303 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 14,007 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,373,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,733 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,501,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in 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.