Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Stock Price Down 0.9% After Analyst Downgrade

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) traded down 0.9% during trading on Wednesday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $420.00 to $415.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Home Depot traded as low as $332.96 and last traded at $334.83. 4,525,522 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 28% from the average session volume of 3,539,049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $337.93.

Several other brokerages have also commented on HD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho assumed coverage on Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price objective for the company. Zelman & Associates raised Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Home Depot in the first quarter worth $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $367.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $338.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The firm has a market cap of $329.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.64 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,452.22% and a net margin of 9.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.60%.

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.