Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Stock Price Up 1% – Should You Buy?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares were up 1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $392.24 and last traded at $391.00. Approximately 2,023,953 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 2,448,326 shares. The stock had previously closed at $387.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased 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. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Melius Research initiated 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 for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.00.

Home Depot Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $406.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $385.06. The firm has a market cap of $387.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Home Depot

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Home Depot by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 136 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.