Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading Up 0.7% on Analyst Upgrade

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) was up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $400.00 to $430.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Home Depot traded as high as $398.50 and last traded at $398.31. Approximately 344,586 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 3,337,670 shares. The stock had previously closed at $395.57.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Home Depot from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $416.37.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HD. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 27,155 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $9,348,000 after buying an additional 5,879 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 37,127 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $14,242,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.8% during the third quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,994 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Home Depot by 5.5% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 18,628 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,146,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 17.1% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $368,542,000 after acquiring an additional 132,967 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $385.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $393.80 and a 200 day moving average of $363.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $42.57 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 733.61% and a net margin of 9.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.01 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 60.57%.

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.