Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Down 0.5% on Analyst Downgrade

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares were down 0.5% during trading on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $415.00 to $395.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Home Depot traded as low as $337.63 and last traded at $338.89. Approximately 498,715 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 3,312,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $340.69.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Home Depot from $420.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $335.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $360.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $343.54. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. Home Depot’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. 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.