The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Short Interest Down 6.1% in October

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,570,000 shares, a decrease of 6.1% from the October 15th total of 11,260,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction of $9,030,368.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares in the company, valued at $8,343,399.64. The trade was 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. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Home Depot by 3.7% during the third quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,624 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 2,494 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,011,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,372 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on HD. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $451.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, 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. One investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:HD traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $408.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 195,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,367,003. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $399.51 and a 200-day moving average of $366.81. Home Depot has a 1 year low of $302.34 and a 1 year high of $421.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $406.18 billion, a PE ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.81 earnings per share. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Home Depot will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.14%.

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.