The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $426.00.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Home Depot from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD stock opened at $420.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $417.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $403.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $369.25. Home Depot has a one year low of $308.31 and a one year high of $421.56.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Home Depot will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the second quarter worth $25,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

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.