Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading 2.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shot up 2.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $419.40 and last traded at $419.39. 705,365 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 2,996,039 shares. The stock had previously closed at $409.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $459.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $414.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $406.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $388.73.

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

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 11.1% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 76,914 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $26,477,000 after acquiring an additional 7,702 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Home Depot by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 245,701 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $84,580,000 after buying an additional 19,360 shares in the last quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the second quarter valued at about $5,852,000. Harmony Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 5.1% during the second quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 12,877 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,433,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. Finally, Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 18.2% in the second quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 24,570 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,458,000 after acquiring an additional 3,780 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

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.