Short Interest in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Decreases By 6.1%

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,570,000 shares, a decline of 6.1% from the October 15th total of 11,260,000 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on HD shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Home Depot from $372.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $420.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $377.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Home Depot from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Home Depot has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $426.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Home Depot news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction of $9,030,368.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,343,399.64. This trade represents a 51.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HD. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the second quarter worth $33,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company's stock.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of HD stock traded up $2.26 on Monday, hitting $410.44. 3,388,445 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,381,620. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $399.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $366.81. Home Depot has a one year low of $302.34 and a one year high of $421.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $407.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 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 analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.81 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Home Depot will post 15.12 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.14%.

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.