The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Short Interest Update

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 10,540,000 shares, an increase of 8.9% from the November 15th total of 9,680,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Home Depot Stock Performance

NYSE:HD traded down $2.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $408.47. 3,654,855 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,371,252. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $411.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $379.79. 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 has a one year low of $323.77 and a one year high of $439.37. The firm has a market cap of $405.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.03.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The firm had revenue of $40.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.81 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Home Depot will post 15.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Home Depot's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HD shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $451.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $387.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Home Depot from $459.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Home Depot from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $426.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction of $9,030,368.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,343,399.64. The trade was a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann Marie Campbell sold 100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.58, for a total value of $40,258.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,018,159.70. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.