Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Down 0.6% – What’s Next?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares were down 0.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $410.86 and last traded at $411.60. Approximately 1,195,653 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 3,382,240 shares. The stock had previously closed at $414.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research initiated coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $420.00 price target on the stock. Gordon Haskett upgraded 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, October 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Home Depot from $395.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $402.38.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $410.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $375.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $356.30.

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

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 60.36%.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 33,540.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,478,855 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $509,081,000 after acquiring an additional 1,474,459 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Home Depot during the first quarter valued at $513,016,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Home Depot by 15.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,437,805 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,853,143,000 after acquiring an additional 971,833 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Home Depot during the first quarter valued at about $301,364,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 13.1% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,917,286 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,886,271,000 after buying an additional 569,690 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.