Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Up 0.7% Following Analyst Upgrade

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) shot up 0.7% during trading on Wednesday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $391.00 to $393.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Home Depot traded as high as $363.30 and last traded at $361.97. 759,363 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 3,439,209 shares. The stock had previously closed at $359.38.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on HD. Gordon Haskett cut Home Depot from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $418.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $455.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded shares of Home Depot to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $430.32.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV boosted its position in Home Depot by 99,400.7% during the first quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 18,975,772 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $6,954,431,000 after purchasing an additional 18,956,701 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth about $5,032,910,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 39,194.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,236,903 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $37,517,230,000 after acquiring an additional 10,210,851 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,212,546,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 21,394.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,039,862 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $793,486,000 after acquiring an additional 2,030,372 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Home Depot Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $360.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $358.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $388.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $2.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. Home Depot's payout ratio is currently 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.