Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading Down 1.1% - Here's What Happened

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $407.63 and last traded at $411.42. 785,129 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 3,381,399 shares. The stock had previously closed at $416.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $377.00 to $363.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Home Depot from $395.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Melius Research assumed coverage on Home Depot in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $420.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Home Depot from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $426.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $402.38.

Home Depot Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $406.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $376.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $356.72.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $43.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $42.57 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 681.27% and a net margin of 9.71%. Home Depot's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.01 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Home Depot

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HD. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Home Depot by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,790,895 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $3,046,485,000 after purchasing an additional 184,480 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Home Depot by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,515,343 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $2,931,328,000 after buying an additional 100,139 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Home Depot by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,437,805 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $2,853,143,000 after acquiring an additional 971,833 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,774,083 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,980,883,000 after acquiring an additional 138,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Home Depot by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,917,286 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,886,271,000 after acquiring an additional 569,690 shares during the last quarter. 70.86% of the stock is currently 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.