Home Depot Inc. Boosts Dividend & Buyback As Q4 Earnings Beat The Street

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) early Tuesday [Feb 21, 2017 | 6:24am ] posted better than expected fourth quarter earnings results and announced massive raises to its dividend payout and share buyback program.

Written by StockNews.com

The Atlanta-based home improvement retailer reported adjusted Q4 EPS of $1.44, which was $0.10 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.34.

Revenues rose 5.8% from last year to $22.21 billion, also topping analysts view for $21.81 billion.

Home Depot noted that comparable store sales for the fourth quarter gained 5.8%, with U.S. comps up 6.3%. Comparable sales are an important measure of a retailer’s health, since they measure only the year-over-year performance of stores open at least twelve months.

Looking ahead, HD forecast fiscal 2017 EPS of $7.13, slightly below the $7.17 that analysts are expecting. Its 2017 revenue growth outlook of 4.6% implies revenues of about $98.95 billion, ahead of Wall Street’s $98.32 billion view.

Home Depot also expects comps to rise approximately 4.6% in the current fiscal year.

Finally, HD boosted its quarterly dividend payout by a whopping 29%, to $0.89 per share. Its board of directors also announced a massive new $15 billion share buyback program, which replaces its prior authorization.

The company commented via press release:

“Our focus on providing localized and innovative product selection, improving the interconnected customer experience, and driving productivity resulted in record sales and net earnings for 2016,” said Craig Menear, chairman, CEO and president. “Our associates responded to a healthy housing market and strong customer demand, and I’d like to thank them for their execution, hard work and continued dedication to our customers.”

...Year-to-date, HD has gained 6.65%, versus a 5.17% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

HD currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #1 of 62 stocks in the Home Improvement & Goods category.