Home DepotHDHOLDNov 29, 2016Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 04, 2026. Market Open.
Dominant home improvement retailer in US. Its edge is being a one-stop shop for complex, multi-trade projects. Taking share from both LOW and specialty suppliers. Expanded into roofing, building products, and repair/maintenance. Stepped up e-commerce.
13% compound pace of dividend increases over last decade. Lagged effect of interest rate increases in US likely to shore up housing this year and bolster earnings. Yield is 2.50%.
A great company, but also a $160 billion company trading at 18.5X forward earnings, which is a premium to the market. The fact that it is a great company is reflected in the stock. The US housing market has recovered. It is now at 1.3 million home starts on an annualized basis. On a normalized basis based on the last 40 years, you’ve had about 1.3-1.5 million starts, so you are back to where US housing should be. This will be a beneficiary of that, but the market already reflects that. It is hard to grow a $160 billion retail company, and paying a premium to the market is challenging. If you don’t own it, he would look elsewhere.