The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Shares Acquired by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 34.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 376,808 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 95,586 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $146,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 102 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.85.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock opened at $340.95 on Tuesday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.77 and a 12-month high of $439.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $338.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $383.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $398.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.66%.

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.