Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading Down 1%

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) fell 1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $329.43 and last traded at $330.82. 552,472 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 3,308,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $334.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HD shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $323.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho began coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $415.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays upgraded Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $325.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $337.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $362.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $341.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. Home Depot’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 59.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, 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 value 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 approximately $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value 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 approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Home Depot by 53.3% during 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 period. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.