Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Down 3.1% – Here’s What Happened

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s share price was down 3.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $330.14 and last traded at $330.7510. Approximately 3,522,268 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 4,187,812 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.43.

Home Depot News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Home Depot this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded Pro digital tools and AI: Home Depot is rolling out new project?management and AI features for its Pro customers to streamline jobs, reduce downtime and deepen professional relationships—this can boost sales, margins and recurring Pro business over time. The Home Depot Expands Pro Digital Experience
• Positive Sentiment: US store expansion: HD plans to open 12 U.S. stores in 2026, adding ~1.6M+ sq ft—a sign of continued capital deployment into growth markets and footprint-driven revenue potential. Home Depot to open 12 US stores in 2026 expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Seasonal demand program: The company launched its Spring Starts event (Mar 19–Apr 1), a seasonal merchandising push that typically drives higher in?store traffic and incremental product sales in outdoor, gardening and seasonal categories. Spring Starts Event
• Positive Sentiment: Operational improvements for Pros: Home Depot launched a real?time large?item delivery tracker to reduce downtime for contractors—an efficiency move that should improve Pro retention and lower service friction. Real?Time Pro Delivery Tracker
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are mixed: Coverage notes conflicting views on HD alongside other consumer cyclical names; no clear consensus shift in ratings or price targets was reported in the piece. Analysts Conflicted
• Neutral Sentiment: Battery recycling market coverage: Commentary highlights a growing battery recycling market tied to Home Depot’s battery sales—but the article frames it as a long?term thematic rather than an immediate earnings driver. Battery Recycling Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail investor commentary: Home Depot appears on lists of top retail stock picks, which can support longer?term demand but doesn’t create an immediate catalyst. Top Retail Stocks to Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually heavy put buying: Traders bought ~45,863 put contracts on HD today (?+48% vs. average), signaling elevated bearish bets or hedging activity that likely contributed to intraday selling pressure and amplified volatility.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HD shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Evercore cut their target price on shares of Home Depot from $450.00 to $425.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Home Depot from $441.00 to $422.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Home Depot from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Argus lowered their price target on Home Depot from $450.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $416.00.

Home Depot Trading Down 3.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.62, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $329.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $373.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $375.45.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Home Depot news, CFO Richard V. Mcphail sold 2,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.89, for a total value of $940,669.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,439,951.74. This represents a 5.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,872 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.52, for a total value of $1,000,949.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,599,069.92. This represents a 17.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Silphium Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in Home Depot by 77.2% in the 3rd quarter. Silphium Asset Management Ltd now owns 13,544 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,488,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 65.6% during the 2nd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 0.3% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,095,113 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $443,729,000 after purchasing an additional 3,608 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.3% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 534,564 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $216,600,000 after purchasing an additional 12,239 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 59.9% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 107,438 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $43,533,000 after purchasing an additional 40,232 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.