Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Up 2% – What’s Next?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s share price shot up 2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $361.50 and last traded at $360.37. 808,632 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 3,191,238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $353.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC raised Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $436.50.

Home Depot Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $349.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $393.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $398.66.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HD. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc lifted 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 worth $3,535,000 after buying an additional 3,590 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,758 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $9,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,873 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its position in Home Depot by 51.4% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 132,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

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.