Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Down 1.6% – What’s Next?

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) fell 1.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $347.00 and last traded at $349.84. 935,355 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 3,479,120 shares. The stock had previously closed at $355.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. HSBC upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $434.08.

Home Depot Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $351.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $375.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $395.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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. The company had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.