The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,680,000 shares, a drop of 8.4% from the October 31st total of 10,570,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,290,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HD. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $430.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $387.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.00.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD stock traded down $2.21 on Wednesday, reaching $427.14. The stock had a trading volume of 619,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,368,647. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $408.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $373.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $424.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.03. Home Depot has a 12 month low of $320.01 and a 12 month high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.81 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Home Depot will post 15.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,018,159.70. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total value of $9,030,368.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,343,399.64. This trade represents a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HD. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new stake in Home Depot in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Home Depot in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.