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Home Depot could begin buying back stock this year, the analyst says. Al Bello/Getty Images
Home Depot stock is getting a lift following an upgrade from Guggenheim, which says the home improvement retailer’s profits will rise thanks to recent investments.
Analyst Steven Forbes raised his rating on Home Depot (ticker: HD) to Buy from Neutral, and established a $310 price target for the stock. The move comes on the heels of the company’s acquisition of HD Supply, its recent $3 billion debt offering, and a more moderate valuation, which stands in contrast to the stock’s historical premium, he said.
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For 2021, the bar for better living is set low. By summer, if I’m not mixing my own hand sanitizer while hoping that the lightning wildfires scare off the murder hornets, it will count as a year-over-year improvement.
Goldman Sachs is plenty upbeat. It says that 70% of people in developed markets will be vaccinated by fall, and that U.S. corporate profits this year will hit new records. The starting point for stock valuations seems high, but even so, it predicts 15% more upside this year for the S&P 500 index.
Here’s hoping that’s accurate. If so, tactical investors may want to overweight sectors that tend to do well during economic recoveries. Chief among those is the consumer discretionary sector, which specializes in things people want but don’t quite need. But boosting exposure there can be tricky, because the sector is having an identity crisis.