Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on HD. HSBC reaffirmed a reduce rating and set a $323.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Guggenheim restated a buy rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. DA Davidson restated a neutral rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Home Depot from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD traded up $7.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $342.85. 4,165,054 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,606,830. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $362.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $341.76. The firm has a market cap of $339.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Home Depot has a 52 week low of $274.26 and a 52 week high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Home Depot will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 59.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HD. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

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.