Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Up 0.6% – Still a Buy?

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shot up 0.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $417.23 and last traded at $416.10. 479,704 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 3,056,243 shares. The stock had previously closed at $413.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.00.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.6 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $407.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $392.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The company has a market capitalization of $409.13 billion, a PE ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at $31,727,562. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 trade represents a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Joel Adams & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $286,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 35,353 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 14,210 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,746 shares in the last quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,256,000. 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.