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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on HD. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wedbush raised their price target on Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. HSBC reissued a reduce rating and set a $323.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. 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 an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.8 %

Home Depot stock traded down $6.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $332.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,027,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,358,525. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $366.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $340.51. The company has a market cap of $329.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.98. Home Depot has a fifty-two week low of $274.26 and a fifty-two week high of $396.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (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 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Home Depot will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given 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 2.70%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is 59.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the 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 transaction, 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. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its stake in Home Depot by 29.5% during the first quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 63,919 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $24,519,000 after purchasing an additional 14,571 shares during the last quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 23.8% during the first quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 2,102.9% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 47,868 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $18,362,000 after purchasing an additional 45,695 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 3.3% during the first quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 18,778 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $7,203,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 0.3% during the first quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,905 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $5,718,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.