The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and twenty-two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $430.23.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,727,562. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total transaction of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,018,159.70. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Home Depot by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $37,251,142,000 after buying an additional 875,836 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,957,463 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $8,525,046,000 after acquiring an additional 257,036 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,032,910,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Home Depot by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,552,090 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,715,668,000 after purchasing an additional 125,441 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Home Depot by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,052,091 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,521,173,000 after purchasing an additional 468,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $407.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $404.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $405.62 and its 200 day moving average is $395.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. Home Depot has a 1-year low of $323.77 and a 1-year high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Home Depot will post 15.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.