Opulen Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Opulen Financial Group LLC bought a new position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 567 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 65.2% in the fourth quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 9,100 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,535,000 after purchasing an additional 3,590 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its stake in Home Depot by 51.4% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,357,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Home Depot by 17.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $368,542,000 after buying an additional 132,967 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in Home Depot by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,291,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $1,793,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HD opened at $386.82 on Thursday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1 year low of $323.77 and a 1 year high of $439.37. The company has a market cap of $384.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $400.81 and its 200 day moving average is $399.62.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $2.30 dividend. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on HD. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. HSBC raised Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.50.

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.