Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading 0.7% Higher – Time to Buy?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) rose 0.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $387.69 and last traded at $386.89. Approximately 2,847,219 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 9% from the average daily volume of 2,609,328 shares. The stock had previously closed at $384.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on HD shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $420.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $406.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $385.04. The company has a market capitalization of $384.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 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.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.81 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lantz Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 6,010 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,069,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Home Depot by 1.4% during the second quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 6,708 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 5.7% during the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,427 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 0.7% during the second quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 125,590 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $43,233,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the period. Finally, Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth about $217,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by 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.