Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading Down 0.9% After Analyst Downgrade

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) dropped 0.9% on Wednesday 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 $332.96 and last traded at $334.83. Approximately 4,525,522 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 28% from the average daily volume of 3,539,049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $337.93.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on HD. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price target for the company. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and set a $323.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush upped their price objective on Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Home Depot news, 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 value of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,311,070,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 105,205.6% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,994,957 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,472,867,000 after acquiring an additional 10,984,516 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 12,647.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,930,104,000 after acquiring an additional 5,525,791 shares during the period. Imprint Wealth LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 30,994.4% in the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,413,234 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $241,323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,405,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Home Depot by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,450,798 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,928,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944,762 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Home Depot Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $329.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $368.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $339.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The firm 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 revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 59.60%.

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.