Wall Street Analysts Look Bullish on Home Depot (HD): Should You Buy?

Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the reliability of Wall Street analysts' recommendations, particularly focusing on Home Depot (HD), and emphasizes the importance of using these recommendations in conjunction with other research tools like the Zacks Rank. Group 1: Brokerage Recommendations - Home Depot has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.61, indicating a consensus between Strong Buy and Buy, based on 37 brokerage firms' recommendations [2] - Of the 37 recommendations, 26 are Strong Buy and one is Buy, which accounts for 70.3% and 2.7% of all recommendations respectively [2] - Despite the positive ABR, relying solely on this information for investment decisions may not be advisable, as studies show brokerage recommendations often lack success in guiding investors towards stocks with significant price appreciation [5][10] Group 2: Analyst Bias and Zacks Rank - Brokerage analysts tend to exhibit a strong positive bias due to their firms' vested interests, resulting in a disproportionate number of favorable ratings compared to negative ones [6][10] - The Zacks Rank, which is based on earnings estimate revisions, is presented as a more reliable indicator of a stock's near-term price performance compared to the ABR [8][11] - The Zacks Rank is timely and reflects current business trends, while the ABR may not always be up-to-date [12] Group 3: Home Depot's Earnings Estimates - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Home Depot's earnings for the current year remains unchanged at $15.04, indicating steady analyst views on the company's earnings prospects [13] - The unchanged consensus estimate has led to a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold) for Home Depot, suggesting caution despite the Buy-equivalent ABR [14]