Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Stock Price Down 0.9% After Analyst Downgrade

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) was down 0.9% on Wednesday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $420.00 to $415.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Home Depot traded as low as $332.96 and last traded at $334.83. Approximately 4,525,522 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 28% from the average daily volume of 3,539,049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $337.93.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on HD. Oppenheimer downgraded Home Depot from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Home Depot from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a report on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $329.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $367.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $338.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94.

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

Home Depot Increases Dividend

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

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.