Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Stock Price Up 1.6% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s share price rose 1.6% on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $412.74 and last traded at $409.52. Approximately 816,432 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 3,372,059 shares. The stock had previously closed at $403.08.

The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 733.61%. The firm had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.81 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 60.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Home Depot from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Home Depot from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Home Depot to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $424.67.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter valued at $46,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the second quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 68.0% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 126 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $406.77 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $396.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $365.25.

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.