Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Upgraded to Buy by DA Davidson

DA Davidson upgraded shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. DA Davidson currently has $395.00 price objective on the home improvement retailer’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $352.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Home Depot from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, May 25th. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $323.00 to $318.00 and set a reduce rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $400.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Home Depot from $411.00 to $400.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $378.42.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock opened at $341.76 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $337.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $352.67. The company has a market cap of $338.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Home Depot has a fifty-two week low of $274.26 and a fifty-two week high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $36.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.65 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 1,056.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Home Depot will post 15.28 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 60.36%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were 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 owns 33,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,503,123.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

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.