Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Shares Down 1.5%

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) fell 1.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $333.12 and last traded at $334.00. 789,720 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 3,318,877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $339.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HD. Citigroup increased their price objective on Home Depot from $333.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Oppenheimer downgraded Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays upgraded Home Depot from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $372.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $366.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $340.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $330.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. This is a boost from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.