Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Up 1.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares rose 1.3% during mid-day trading on Monday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $440.00 to $460.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Home Depot traded as high as $405.84 and last traded at $404.21. Approximately 437,575 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 3,349,338 shares. The stock had previously closed at $398.91.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on HD. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $426.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $413.48.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HD. Kowal Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 15.3% in the first quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 4,138 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,587,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 6,561 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,517,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 21,336 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $8,185,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Talbot Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 38,461 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $14,753,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 12,205 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,682,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Home Depot Trading Down 1.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $391.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $391.17 and its 200 day moving average is $360.80.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.59 by $0.08. The company 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.65 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. 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.