Home Depot (NYSE:HD) Trading Down 0.5% After Analyst Downgrade

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)’s share price dropped 0.5% on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $415.00 to $395.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Home Depot traded as low as $337.63 and last traded at $338.89. Approximately 498,715 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 3,312,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $340.69.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Home Depot from $347.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 research note on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Home Depot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Home Depot presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.19.

Insider Activity at Home Depot

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Home Depot in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Home Depot during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Home Depot by 53.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in Home Depot in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 70.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Home Depot Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $360.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $343.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $336.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $34.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.09. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.60%.

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.