Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Given “Buy” Rating at Guggenheim

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

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. HSBC raised shares of Home Depot from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.50.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE HD opened at $390.40 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $401.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $398.42. Home Depot has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37. The firm has a market cap of $387.81 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Home Depot will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 61.14%.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 96 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.