Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading 3.5% Higher After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares were up 3.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $397.65 and last traded at $395.90. Approximately 2,341,056 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 3,116,116 shares. The stock had previously closed at $382.42.

The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $465.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $433.44.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $37,251,142,000 after buying an additional 875,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,957,463 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,525,046,000 after purchasing an additional 257,036 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $5,032,910,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,455,582 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,845,098,000 after buying an additional 647,552 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Home Depot by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,726,186,000 after buying an additional 1,424,857 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Trading Up 3.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $401.53 and its 200-day moving average is $398.16. The firm has a market cap of $392.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05.

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.