Home Depot Inc
The headwinds faced by the company in 2023 seem to be "bottoming or reversing," which should lead to an increase in demand this year, according to Wedbush.
The Home Depot Analyst: Seth Basham upgraded the rating for Home Depot from Neutral to Outperform, while raising the price target from $330 to $380.
The Home Depot Thesis: The company is a prime beneficiary of the expected rise in home improvement spending, which is likely to grow by at least low single digits by the second half of 2024, Basham said in the upgrade note.
"We expect HD's Pro business segment to outperform DIY in a rebounding industry environment with healthy Pro and general employment, solid wage growth and homeowner spending power from continued home price appreciation," the analyst wrote.
"Further, HD's building Complex Pro initiative should help it gain Pro market share," he added.
Basham further stated that the 2024 projections for Home Depot included operating margins of 14.3% and earnings of $15.85 per share, higher than the consensus estimate of 14.2% and $15.57, respectively.
HD Price Action: Shares of Home Depot were up 1.7% to $352.15 at the time of publication Wednesday.
