Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Up 0.9% – Time to Buy?

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares rose 0.9% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $355.55 and last traded at $354.39. Approximately 937,661 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 3,440,286 shares. The stock had previously closed at $351.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Home Depot from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, KGI Securities raised Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.50.

Home Depot Stock Up 0.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $352.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $397.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $399.63.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $39.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. Home Depot’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Members Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,639,000. Tableaux LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $938,000. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $770,000. Finally, Campbell Deegan Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

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.