Home Depot, Inc. (The) (NYSE:HD) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 41,725 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 424% compared to the average daily volume of 7,956 call options.
Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) opened at 146.65 on Friday. Home Depot, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.20 and a 12-month high of $160.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $153.64 and its 200 day moving average is $148.08.
Home Depot, Inc. (The) (NYSE:HD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 16th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.06. Home Depot, Inc. (The) had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 158.80%. The company had revenue of $23.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Home Depot, Inc. (The)’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Home Depot, Inc. will post $7.24 EPS for the current year.
A number of research firms have recently commented on HD. Vetr upgraded Home Depot, Inc. (The) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $153.35 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets set a $176.00 target price on Home Depot, Inc. (The) and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $178.00 target price (up from $165.00) on shares of Home Depot, Inc. (The) in a research report on Wednesday, May 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $166.00 target price on Home Depot, Inc. (The) and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 15th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on Home Depot, Inc. (The) from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $164.68.
In other news, Director Wayne M. Hewett bought 350 shares of Home Depot, Inc. (The) stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $157.11 per share, for a total transaction of $54,988.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,954. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP William G. Lennie sold 31,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.47, for a total value of $4,856,727.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,197,328.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 128,900 shares of company stock valued at $20,167,386. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Home Depot, Inc. (The) by 0.7% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,747,883 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $8,185,463,000 after buying an additional 396,271 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Home Depot, Inc. (The) during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,502,692,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Home Depot, Inc. (The) by 1.3% in the first quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,649,798 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,270,050,000 after buying an additional 108,242 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Home Depot, Inc. (The) by 1.8% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 7,890,301 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,158,533,000 after buying an additional 140,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Home Depot, Inc. (The) by 43.4% in the first quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,731,806 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $841,602,000 after buying an additional 1,734,963 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.63% of the company’s stock.
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About Home Depot, Inc. (The)
The Home Depot, Inc (The Home Depot) is a home improvement retailer. The Company sells an assortment of building materials, home improvement products, and lawn and garden products, and provides various services. The Home Depot stores serves three primary customer groups: do-it-yourself (DIY) customers, do-it-for-me (DIFM) customers and professional customers.
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