Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Stock Price Down 0.4% After Analyst Downgrade

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) was down 0.4% on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $470.00 to $410.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Home Depot traded as low as $357.13 and last traded at $360.20. Approximately 476,680 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 3,442,288 shares. The stock had previously closed at $361.73.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on HD. HSBC raised shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $430.12.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HD. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 99,400.7% during the first quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 18,975,772 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,954,431,000 after buying an additional 18,956,701 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $5,032,910,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 39,194.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,236,903 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $37,517,230,000 after acquiring an additional 10,210,851 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $2,212,546,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 21,394.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,039,862 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $793,486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030,372 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $359.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $389.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $357.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. Home Depot’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.66%.

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.