Home Depot’s (HD) strategic investments will likely back above-market growth, while the retailer is also well placed for continued share gains even amid macroeconomic softness, BofA Securities said Wednesday in a report.
BofA kept its buy rating on Home Depot and raised the price target on the stock to $400 from $372.
The company reported fiscal Q4 earnings Tuesday of $2.82 per diluted share, down from $3.30 a year earlier. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expected $2.78. Net sales fell to $34.8 billion from $35.8 billion. Analysts expected $34.7 billion.
The retailer’s operating margin fell 135 basis points to 11.9% from a year earlier, compared with consensus forecasts of 11.8%, BofA said. That reflects a “pull forward of pricing actions ahead of cost decreases, and a 115 bps increase in opex as a percentage of sales reflecting sales deleverage and 2023 labor investments,” according to the report.
BofA said it expects Home Depot’s “continued investments in omnichannel, pro initiatives, and new stores to continue to support above-market growth in 2024 and long-term.”
“Comps should also see support from improving in-stock & on-shelf availability improvements (which have reached their highest levels since before the pandemic) and its strong everyday low price value proposition,” the report said.
In the long-term, BofA forecast positive drivers for spending in home-improvement projects including “home price appreciation, an aging housing stock, millennial household formation, and increased usage.”