HD

[WallStreetnBio]

Top 10 Stocks With Big Insider Buying, Buybacks


Home Depot recently announced it would buy back $22.5 billion of its own stock. If completed, the massive buyback, worth nearly one-third its total market cap, will rank as the fifth largest share repurchase by a U.S. company.

Home Depot also recently announced that it will sell its HD Supply to Bain Capital Partners, Carlyle Group and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for $10.3 billion. Proceeds from the sale will be used to fund the record buyback, along with cash and new debt. HD Supply is a supply division of Home Depot that sells building materials, waste water and utility products to municipalities and contractors. Home Depot's supply branch accounts for 13% of total sales and 8% of its operating profit.

Focusing solely on improving its retail business, Mark Holifield, Home Depot's senior vice president for the supply chain, said "Home Depot is working to improve customer service, product innovation and availability and stores' shopping environment."

On June 20, Stifel Nicolaus increased its rating on Home Depot to buy from hold and bumped up the price target to $50. The analyst noted the huge buyback and a more focused business model as catalysts to drive the stock's price higher.

Another positive note is that Ken Fisher is a holder of Home Depot. Fisher, son of famous value investor and Buffett inspiration, Phil Fisher, is an investing legend now in his own right. He runs the $35 billion Fisher Asset Management and writes a column for Forbes magazine. CXOAdvisory.com ranks him as the No. 1 market pundit, having tacked all of his market-timing calls.

For the rest of Fisher's holdings, including Halliburton (HAL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) and Morgan Stanley (MS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating), check out the Ken Fisher page on Stockpickr.

Another Home Depot shareholder is Seth Klarman, who dedicates 7.2% of his firm's portfolio to the retailer. Seth Klarman is a well-known value investor who has run the Baupost Group since the early 1980s. The Baupost Group manages around $5 billion and has posted stellar annualized returns of nearly 20% per year since inception.

So again, with an enormous buyback, two legendary investors in the stock and an analyst upgrade, Home Depot deserves our attention.


I think HD is good for a 10% no risk gain in 2 weeks. They are just now starting the purchase of the shares.

[WallStreetnBio]

Goldman Upgrades Home Depot
at TheStreet.com (Mon 6:28am) 

Home Depot (HD - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) scored an upgrade at Goldman Sachs.
The firm boosted its rating on the retail giant's stock to buy from neutral, citing an improved business mix and capital structure.

The news comes less than a month after Home Depot found private equity buyers for its HD Supply unit and said it would focus on boosting returns in its core retail business. Home Depot's new chief, Frank Blake, has also pledged to buy back stock and pay bigger dividends in hopes of quieting shareholder discontent stemming from the serial underperformance during the Bob Nardelli era.