Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Up 1.6% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) traded up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $412.74 and last traded at $409.52. 816,432 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 3,372,059 shares. The stock had previously closed at $403.08.

The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The business had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 2.2% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,426,649 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,819,679,000 after acquiring an additional 205,954 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 51,250.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,779,833 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $35,575,880,000 after purchasing an additional 8,762,735 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,679,237 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,516,827,000 after buying an additional 795,438 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Home Depot by 1.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,515,343 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,931,328,000 after buying an additional 100,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 5.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,030,483 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,253,952,000 after acquiring an additional 409,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Down 1.1 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $397.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $365.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $402.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.01.

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.