Utah Retirement Systems Increases Holdings in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Utah Retirement Systems raised its stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,568 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Home Depot comprises approximately 0.7% of Utah Retirement Systems’ holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Utah Retirement Systems’ holdings in Home Depot were worth $64,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Quarry LP increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. KGI Securities upgraded Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Truist Financial cut their price target on Home Depot from $437.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Gordon Haskett lowered Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $434.08.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.6 %

HD opened at $359.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $356.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.77 and a 12 month high of $439.37. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $362.50 and a 200 day moving average of $391.50.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

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.