Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading 0.7% Higher - Here's Why

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $367.95 and last traded at $367.93. Approximately 556,667 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 3,436,422 shares. The stock had previously closed at $365.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Home Depot from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $431.00 to $424.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $435.85.

Home Depot Stock Down 4.1 %

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 stock has a market capitalization of $353.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.17, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $386.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $398.35.

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Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.15 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 452.60% and a net margin of 9.45%. The company's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is an increase from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Home Depot by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,763,752 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $37,251,142,000 after acquiring an additional 875,836 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,957,463 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $8,525,046,000 after purchasing an additional 257,036 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,032,910,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Home Depot by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,455,582 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,845,098,000 after buying an additional 647,552 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Home Depot by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,149,890 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,726,186,000 after buying an additional 1,424,857 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.