The last time Home Depot moved up on the MWS list was when hurricane season was at its prime. This time around, it’s all about Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which have renewed investor interest in retail stocks. U.S. retailers had a record Black Friday this year, as U.S. consumer confidence strengthened due to favorable economic conditions and a strong jobs and housing market.
According to Adobe Analytics, U.S. retailers are expected to register online sales above $100 billion. These online shopping numbers have never been stronger. Home Depot usually does very well when housing prices are going up, because people see house repairs as an investment that will further increase the value of their house.
Home Depot also reported strong numbers that were better than analyst estimates. Revenue from hurricanes alone was $282 million for the third quarter. EPS numbers came in at $1.84 per share compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 per share.
Home Depot was also making news on the dividend front, as the stock is going ex-dividend on November 29, with a payout of 89 cents per share. This is an increase of more than 28% compared to the payout given in the same quarter last year.
Other stocks that saw movement last week were Apple, which reclaimed its lost spot from last week by pushing W.P. Carey down, and Microsoft, which went up by one place to land in the top 15 list. Mattel lost another spot and is now down to 93 in the list.
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