Is Home Depot a Magnificent Stock to Buy?
Home Depot's (NYSE: HD) share prices have been under pressure lately. The home improvement retailer's stock is down 7.6% so far in 2023, and trading down a disappointing 30% from its all-time high set near the start of 2022. Rapidly rising interest rates last year, coupled with the general macroeconomic uncertainty, have taken a toll.
No investor likes to see losses in their portfolio, but in times like this, it's important to keep the right mentality. That means staying focused on the long term. Despite shares being down, is Home Depot a magnificent stock to buy? Let's take a closer look.
There's no denying Home Depot saw a sales slowdown recently. In the most recent quarter (the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, ended Jan. 29), revenue increased a mere 0.3% year over year, with comparable sales declining 0.3%. Net income of $3.4 billion was essentially flat, compared to Q4 2021, but thanks to stock buybacks, diluted earnings per share (EPS) rose 2.8%. For the full fiscal year, sales were up 4.1%. This was a respectable showing, but it pales in comparison to the double-digit percentage gains Home Depot registered in the prior two fiscal years.
Source Fool.com
