The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Short Interest Up 5.7% in July

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,120,000 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the July 15th total of 8,630,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,480,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $395.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $377.00 to $363.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Home Depot from $360.00 to $330.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $386.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HD. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 899 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,669 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 3,720 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,409 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $276,000. Finally, Kellett Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD stock opened at $363.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $360.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.34. Home Depot has a 52 week low of $274.26 and a 52 week high of $396.87. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $351.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $353.25.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.59 by $0.08. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 1,056.67%. The business had revenue of $43.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Home Depot will post 15.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.36%.

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.