Novem Group Takes $941,000 Position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Novem Group acquired a new position in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,419 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $941,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 9,100 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,535,000 after buying an additional 3,590 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,758 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $9,242,000 after acquiring an additional 3,873 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Investors L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Home Depot in the fourth quarter valued at $409,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Home Depot in the 4th quarter valued at $3,193,000. Finally, Umpqua Bank lifted its stake in shares of Home Depot by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 6,173 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Stock Down 1.7%

Home Depot stock opened at $370.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $368.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 1.13. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $323.77 and a fifty-two week high of $439.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $359.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $387.66.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.59 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $39.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.24 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. Home Depot’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.63 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Home Depot Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This is an increase from Home Depot’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Home Depot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. KGI Securities raised shares of Home Depot to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $455.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a report on Tuesday. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Home Depot in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Home Depot from $445.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $405.00 to $425.00 in a report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $427.92.

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.