Brokerages Set The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Target Price at $376.35

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $376.35.

A number of brokerages have commented on HD. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and set a $323.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays raised shares of Home Depot from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 1st.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 3.7% during the third quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 88,444 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $26,725,000 after purchasing an additional 3,162 shares during the period. Wolf Group Capital Advisors raised its position in Home Depot by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors now owns 7,513 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $2,604,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel raised its position in Home Depot by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel now owns 2,700 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $819,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Home Depot by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 8,153 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $2,826,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Home Depot stock traded down $4.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $342.87. 3,550,338 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,785,605. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Home Depot has a 12 month low of $274.26 and a 12 month high of $396.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $339.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50 day moving average of $369.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $338.58.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. Home Depot's quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Home Depot will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This is a boost from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.60%.

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.