The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,630,000 shares, an increase of 11.6% from the June 30th total of 7,730,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In other news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total transaction of $19,332,841.44. Following the completion of the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dechtman Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Home Depot by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dechtman Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,724 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 9.6% in the second quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 46,680 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $16,069,000 after buying an additional 4,079 shares in the last quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 4.9% in the second quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 17,770 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,117,000 after buying an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank boosted its stake in Home Depot by 1.6% during the second quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 47,142 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $16,228,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in Home Depot by 8.9% during the second quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 2,246 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of HD stock traded up $2.18 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $361.69. The company had a trading volume of 2,142,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,408,628. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $343.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.30. Home Depot has a 12 month low of $274.26 and a 12 month high of $396.87. The company has a market cap of $358.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $36.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Home Depot will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th were paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is 60.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Home Depot from $425.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $323.00 to $318.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $426.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $381.80.

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.