Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised Home Depot from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and raised their target price for the stock from $311.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Home Depot from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated an outperform rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Home Depot stock traded down $1.19 on Friday, reaching $341.66. 914,884 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,320,994. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. Home Depot has a 52 week low of $274.26 and a 52 week high of $396.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $361.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $342.77. The company has a market capitalization of $338.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. Home Depot’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Home Depot will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,311,070,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 12,647.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,930,104,000 after acquiring an additional 5,525,791 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,506,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,388 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,765,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,117,016,000 after acquiring an additional 992,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $207,210,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.