StockNews.com Lowers Home Depot (NYSE:HD) to Hold

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

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on HD. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $323.00 price objective on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Home Depot from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Home Depot from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $311.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.96.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.6 %

Home Depot stock opened at $332.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $329.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.98. Home Depot has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $396.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $368.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $339.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Home Depot news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Edward P. Decker sold 35,987 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,712,878.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 8,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.74, for a total value of $3,317,185.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,123.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

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.