Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading 1.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) were up 1.1% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $363.33 and last traded at $362.25. Approximately 891,411 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 3,439,605 shares. The stock had previously closed at $358.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the subject of several research reports. KGI Securities upgraded Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.85.

Home Depot Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $362.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $388.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $398.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 220.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 96 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 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.