Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading Up 0.6% – Time to Buy?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $364.73 and last traded at $363.29. 690,980 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 3,206,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $360.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on HD shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, KGI Securities raised shares of Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $435.85.

Home Depot Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $391.01 and a 200 day moving average of $398.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The firm has a market cap of $355.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.66%.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 220.0% during the fourth 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. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.