Home Depot Stock: Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Investors were bracing for some weak operating results out of Home Depot (NYSE: HD) this month, and that's exactly what the retailer delivered. Home improvement demand is clearly shrinking following three years of strong growth, its first-quarter earnings report showed. And deflation in some key categories is harming profitability, too.
Investors have to balance the short-term risks against Home Depot's attractive qualities, including its market dominance, its growing dividend, and its impressive cash generation. With that big picture in mind, let's look at whether the stock is a buy, sell, or hold right now.
The headline takeaway was that growth was surprisingly weak through late April, just as Home Depot's crucial spring selling season began. On the bright side, declines in customer traffic improved to 5% from 6% in the prior quarter. The retailer has been leading the industry on this metric lately, in part thanks to its strength among professional contractors.
Source Fool.com
