Arkansas Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Arkansas Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 16.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 500 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Arkansas Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 7,345 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,546,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 113.4% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 7,686 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,670,000 after purchasing an additional 4,084 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 2,691 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. raised its stake in Home Depot by 308.3% during the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 4,773 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 3,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of HD traded down $3.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $408.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,989,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,392,598. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74. The company’s 50-day moving average is $373.28 and its 200-day moving average is $356.40. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 52-week low of $274.26 and a 52-week high of $412.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $404.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.59 by $0.08. Home Depot had a return on equity of 681.27% and a net margin of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $43.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.65 earnings per share. Home Depot’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HD. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Home Depot from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Melius Research started coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $420.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Home Depot from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Home Depot from $380.00 to $375.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $395.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $398.54.

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.