Home Depot Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:HD)

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 43,549 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 77% compared to the typical volume of 24,583 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy A. Hourigan sold 16,004 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $6,553,958.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 77,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,727,562. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 22,084 shares of Home Depot stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.91, for a total transaction of $9,030,368.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,343,399.64. This trade represents a 51.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,188 shares of company stock worth $15,624,585. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Home Depot

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Home Depot by 27.6% in the second quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 27,155 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $9,348,000 after purchasing an additional 5,879 shares during the period. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 1.8% during the third quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,994 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in Home Depot by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 909,530 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $368,542,000 after buying an additional 132,967 shares in the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation increased its stake in Home Depot by 121.0% during the 2nd quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 269,368 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $92,727,000 after buying an additional 147,482 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 225.6% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 32,717 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,257,000 after buying an additional 22,668 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Daiwa America raised Home Depot to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Home Depot from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Home Depot from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $363.00 to $413.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Home Depot from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Home Depot currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.00.

Home Depot Stock Performance

Shares of HD opened at $429.62 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $405.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $370.41. The firm has a market cap of $426.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.19, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.01. Home Depot has a 52-week low of $308.59 and a 52-week high of $439.37.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.14. Home Depot had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 452.60%. The company had revenue of $40.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Home Depot will post 15.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is 61.14%.

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.