Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Stock Price Down 2.7% - Here's What Happened

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) dropped 2.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $370.00 and last traded at $371.32. Approximately 1,056,651 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 3,264,232 shares. The stock had previously closed at $381.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $430.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. HSBC upgraded shares of Home Depot from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $356.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Home Depot to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $436.50.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.7 %

The company's 50-day moving average price is $399.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $400.08. The firm has a market cap of $371.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.09. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The business had revenue of $39.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $2.30 dividend. This is an increase from Home Depot's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HD. SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 17.8% in the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,917 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $777,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 17.1% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $368,542,000 after buying an additional 132,967 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Home Depot by 10.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,471,223 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $596,140,000 after purchasing an additional 141,915 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in Home Depot by 63.4% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 12,749 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $5,166,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares during the period. Finally, United Bank raised its stake in Home Depot by 4.2% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 4,458 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,806,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. 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.