Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on HD. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Home Depot from $355.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $415.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.96.

Home Depot Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of HD opened at $331.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $328.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $365.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $340.40. Home Depot has a twelve month low of $274.26 and a twelve month high of $396.87.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.05. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 1,452.22%. The firm had revenue of $34.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Home Depot will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total value of $13,265,887.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Home Depot news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.63, for a total transaction of $13,265,887.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,731 shares in the company, valued at $39,712,878.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total transaction of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HD. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the fourth quarter valued at $4,311,070,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 12,647.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,569,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,930,104,000 after purchasing an additional 5,525,791 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Home Depot by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,347,596 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,506,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,388 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Home Depot by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,765,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,117,016,000 after purchasing an additional 992,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the third quarter worth about $207,210,000. 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.