Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading Down 0.6% – Time to Sell?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares were down 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $415.85 and last traded at $415.96. Approximately 395,488 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 3,364,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $418.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Home Depot from $415.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Gordon Haskett raised Home Depot from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $377.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $404.69.

Home Depot Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $385.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $358.53. The company has a market cap of $411.55 billion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $43.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.57 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 681.27% and a net margin of 9.71%. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.65 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 60.36%.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 27.6% during the second quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 27,155 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $9,348,000 after purchasing an additional 5,879 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 37,127 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $14,242,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 18,628 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $7,146,000 after buying an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 17.1% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $368,542,000 after acquiring an additional 132,967 shares during the period. Finally, Leeward Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 7.3% during the first quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC now owns 10,431 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,001,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently 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.