Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Coverage Initiated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, StockNewsAPI reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $426.00 price objective on the home improvement retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on HD. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $425.00 to $400.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Home Depot from $415.00 to $395.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Home Depot from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Home Depot from $411.00 to $400.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Home Depot in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $415.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $380.58.

Home Depot Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE HD opened at $363.36 on Tuesday. Home Depot has a 52-week low of $274.26 and a 52-week high of $396.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $360.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $341.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $352.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.11, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $36.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.65 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 1,056.67% and a net margin of 9.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Home Depot will post 15.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 60.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Matt Carey sold 56,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.18, for a total value of $19,332,841.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,503,123.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Home Depot

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.