Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Stock Price Down 0.7% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) traded down 0.7% on Tuesday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $420.00 to $415.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Home Depot traded as low as $334.72 and last traded at $335.47. 981,460 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 3,286,612 shares. The stock had previously closed at $337.93.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on HD. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and set a $323.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $415.00 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the first quarter valued at $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $331.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $369.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $339.05.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,339.65% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm's revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 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 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is an increase from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.