Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Downgraded by StockNews.com to "Hold"

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on HD. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Friday, April 5th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Home Depot from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE HD traded down $3.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $334.83. The company had a trading volume of 4,504,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,336,531. The company has a market capitalization of $331.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.98. Home Depot has a one year low of $274.26 and a one year high of $396.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $369.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $339.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,339.65% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Home Depot will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot 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 transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its holdings 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 valued at $26,725,000 after purchasing an additional 3,162 shares during the last quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,604,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $253,000. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 8.0% during the third quarter. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel now owns 2,700 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.