Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading Down 1.2%

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s share price fell 1.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $379.72 and last traded at $381.24. 1,026,232 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 3,120,875 shares. The stock had previously closed at $385.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on HD shares. StockNews.com raised Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $311.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Home Depot from $299.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.76.

Home Depot Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $380.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $368.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $334.54.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The company had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 59.60%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at $2,933,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ergoteles LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,554,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its position in Home Depot by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 14,628 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Home Depot by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 791,318 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $236,865,000 after purchasing an additional 24,640 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Home Depot Company Profile

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.