Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading 0.6% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) traded up 0.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $350.65 and last traded at $349.21. 1,316,795 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 3,399,974 shares. The stock had previously closed at $347.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. KGI Securities raised Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Home Depot from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.50.

Home Depot Trading Up 1.1 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $397.43 and its 200-day moving average is $399.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The firm has a market cap of $348.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $5,032,910,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $2,212,546,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 21,394.9% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,039,862 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $793,486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030,372 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,726,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424,857 shares during the period. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $471,189,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.