Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading Down 0.4% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) dropped 0.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $445.00 to $420.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Home Depot traded as low as $357.13 and last traded at $360.20. Approximately 476,680 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 3,442,288 shares. The stock had previously closed at $361.73.

Several other analysts have also commented on HD. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $391.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Home Depot from $450.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Gordon Haskett lowered Home Depot from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Hsbc Global Res raised Home Depot from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $430.32.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HD. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $363.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $358.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $389.10.

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 return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $2.30 dividend. This is a boost from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.66%.

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.