Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Cut to "Hold" at Gordon Haskett

Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on HD. 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. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $418.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $434.08.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD traded down $1.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $339.60. 1,829,120 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,465,651. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. Home Depot has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37. The company has a market cap of $337.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $383.21 and a 200 day moving average of $398.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Home Depot will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $2.30 dividend. This is an increase from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot's payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in Home Depot by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 96 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

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.