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

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also commented on HD. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Home Depot from $411.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.46.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of HD opened at $325.10 on Friday. Home Depot has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $396.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $322.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $350.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $347.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.02. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,056.67% and a net margin of 9.79%. The company had revenue of $36.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.82 EPS. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Home Depot will post 15.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Home Depot news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total value of $19,332,841.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,503,123.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $4,311,070,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 5,525,791 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at about $513,016,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Home Depot by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,506,659,000 after buying an additional 1,207,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in 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 worth $5,117,016,000 after acquiring an additional 992,444 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.