Home Depot Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:HD)

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 45,863 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 48% compared to the typical daily volume of 31,000 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.52, for a total transaction of $1,000,949.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,599,069.92. The trade was a 17.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 2,550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.89, for a total transaction of $940,669.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,566 shares in the company, valued at $16,439,951.74. This trade represents a 5.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parvin Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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. Advocate Investing Services LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Financially Speaking Inc purchased a new position in Home Depot in the third quarter worth $31,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Home Depot from $407.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $407.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Home Depot from $370.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $416.00.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of Home Depot stock traded down $10.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $330.75. 3,521,502 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,164,406. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $373.62 and a 200-day moving average of $375.45. Home Depot has a 1 year low of $326.31 and a 1 year high of $426.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $329.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 1.09.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $38.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.01 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 134.32%. Home Depot’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.13 EPS. Home Depot has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.230-14.799 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Home Depot will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $2.33 per share. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.30. This represents a $9.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.50%.

About Home Depot

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.