The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and twenty-two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $413.48.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HD. Loop Capital upgraded Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $426.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Home Depot from $380.00 to $375.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th.

Home Depot Price Performance

HD stock opened at $395.57 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $392.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $362.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74. The stock has a market cap of $392.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.01. Home Depot has a 52-week low of $286.79 and a 52-week high of $421.56.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.59 by $0.08. Home Depot had a return on equity of 681.27% and a net margin of 9.71%. The business had revenue of $43.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Home Depot will post 15.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 60.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 51,250.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,779,833 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $35,575,880,000 after acquiring an additional 8,762,735 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its stake in Home Depot by 33,540.9% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,478,855 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $509,081,000 after acquiring an additional 1,474,459 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the first quarter worth about $513,016,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Home Depot by 15.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,437,805 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,853,143,000 after acquiring an additional 971,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the first quarter worth about $301,364,000. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Home Depot

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.