Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

HD has been the topic of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Home Depot from $450.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $430.00 to $410.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Home Depot from $376.00 to $366.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Home Depot from $370.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $348.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $404.47.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD opened at $390.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $364.64 and its 200-day moving average is $379.81. Home Depot has a 12-month low of $326.31 and a 12-month high of $426.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.08.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.83 by ($0.09). Home Depot had a return on equity of 160.74% and a net margin of 8.77%.The business had revenue of $41.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. The company’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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, EVP Angie Brown sold 1,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.63, for a total value of $695,947.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,941 shares in the company, valued at $1,409,419.83. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.26, for a total transaction of $51,947.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,413,763.20. This represents a 1.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 4,963 shares of company stock valued at $1,748,845 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC grew its position in Home Depot by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,566 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $883,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 57,673 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $19,845,000 after purchasing an additional 7,973 shares during the period. Mill Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mill Capital Management LLC now owns 7,377 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,538,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Home Depot by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 122,448 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $42,134,000 after purchasing an additional 46,034 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Company Profile

The Home Depot, Inc (NYSE: HD) is a leading home improvement retailer that operates large-format stores and an integrated online platform offering a broad range of products and services for do-it-yourself consumers, professional contractors and businesses. The company was founded in 1978 by Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Since opening its first stores at the end of the 1970s, Home Depot has grown into a multinational retailer known for its orange-branded stores and wide assortment of home improvement merchandise.

Home Depot’s core business includes the sale of building materials, lumber, tools, hardware, appliances, paint, plumbing and electrical supplies, lawn and garden products, and home décor.