Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Up 1.4% – Still a Buy?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s share price shot up 1.4% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $406.78 and last traded at $405.47. 1,119,837 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 3,376,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $400.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HD. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Loop Capital upgraded Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.00.

Home Depot Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $417.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $403.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $368.84.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.14%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total value of $9,030,368.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,343,399.64. This represents a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,159.70. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in Home Depot by 10.7% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,394 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $535,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Home Depot by 5.8% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,421 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,381,000 after buying an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 26.8% during the first quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC now owns 766 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Carroll Investors Inc acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the first quarter valued at approximately $636,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Home Depot by 0.7% during the first quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 23,636 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $9,067,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

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.