Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading Down 0.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) fell 0.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $380.73 and last traded at $386.09. 633,686 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 3,237,515 shares. The stock had previously closed at $386.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on HD. KGI Securities raised shares of Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. HSBC raised shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.50.

Home Depot Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $374.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $400.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $399.59.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HD. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in Home Depot by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,917 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $368,542,000 after buying an additional 132,967 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,471,223 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $596,140,000 after buying an additional 141,915 shares during the period. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 22,494 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $9,115,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

About Home Depot

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.