Home Depot’s (HD) Buy Rating Reiterated at Guggenheim

Guggenheim reiterated their buy rating on shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $450.00 price target on the home improvement retailer’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on HD. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $436.50.

Home Depot Stock Performance

HD opened at $396.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $394.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. 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 price is $401.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $398.72. Home Depot has a 52-week low of $323.77 and a 52-week high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. Home Depot’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Home Depot will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 220.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 96 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

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.