In the latest close session, Home Depot (HD) was up +1.51% at $349.29. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.62%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.99%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.65%.
The home-improvement retailer's stock has dropped by 1.66% in the past month, falling short of the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 0.14% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.59%.
The upcoming earnings release of Home Depot will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $2.53, reflecting a 19.17% decrease from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $38.18 billion, down 3.85% from the year-ago period.
HD's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $14.51 per share and revenue of $164.65 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -4.79% and +3.22%, respectively.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Home Depot. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Home Depot is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Home Depot has a Forward P/E ratio of 23.72 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 22.06, which means Home Depot is trading at a premium to the group.
It is also worth noting that HD currently has a PEG ratio of 12.82. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. HD's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2 as of yesterday's close.
The Retail - Home Furnishings industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 110, positioning it in the top 45% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
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The Home Depot, Inc. (HD): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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