Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading 2.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s stock price rose 2.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $430.17 and last traded at $430.08. Approximately 950,965 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 3,384,224 shares. The stock had previously closed at $420.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HD. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer increased their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group raised Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Daiwa America raised Home Depot to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $424.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $405.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $370.81.

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

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.14%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total value of $9,030,368.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,343,399.64. This trade represents a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the second quarter worth $33,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the second quarter worth $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Home Depot in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. 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.