Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Monday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on HD. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho began coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $415.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wedbush boosted their target price on Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Home Depot from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $376.35.

Home Depot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HD traded up $4.18 during trading on Monday, reaching $362.05. The company had a trading volume of 4,127,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,274,180. 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 has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $370.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $337.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $358.80 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,339.65%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Home Depot will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 107,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HD. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

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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