Home Depot Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:HD)

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 43,549 call options on the company. This is an increase of 77% compared to the average daily volume of 24,583 call options.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at $31,727,562. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 12,465 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,159.70. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock valued at $15,624,585. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HD. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Home Depot in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HD traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $428.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,468,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,391,487. Home Depot has a fifty-two week low of $308.59 and a fifty-two week high of $430.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $425.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $404.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $369.82.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. Home Depot's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Home Depot will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on HD. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Home Depot from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Gordon Haskett raised Home Depot from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $451.00 price target for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $426.00.

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.

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