Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on HD. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $395.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Home Depot from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Home Depot from $474.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $370.00 price objective (down from $440.00) on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Home Depot from $475.00 to $445.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $404.60.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD opened at $356.98 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $378.59 and its 200-day moving average is $380.58. Home Depot has a 1-year low of $326.31 and a 1-year high of $436.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.31. The stock has a market cap of $355.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.83 by ($0.09). Home Depot had a return on equity of 193.99% and a net margin of 8.86%.The business had revenue of $41.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Home Depot has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.478-14.478 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Home Depot will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be issued a $2.30 dividend. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 62.71%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP William D. Bastek sold 2,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.12, for a total transaction of $974,445.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,254,313.20. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HD. Parvin Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Home Depot in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financially Speaking Inc acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.