Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading 3.5% Higher - Time to Buy?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 3.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $378.72 and last traded at $375.37. Approximately 1,054,772 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 3,431,831 shares. The stock had previously closed at $362.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $455.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Home Depot from $445.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Home Depot from $450.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, HSBC raised Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten equities research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $430.32.

Home Depot Price Performance

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 company has a market cap of $373.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $358.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $388.66.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is a positive change from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Home Depot by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 96,484,199 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $35,360,494,000 after acquiring an additional 720,447 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Home Depot by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,957,463 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $8,525,046,000 after purchasing an additional 257,036 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV raised its holdings in shares of 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 6.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,415,278 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $5,282,398,000 after purchasing an additional 891,326 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $5,032,910,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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