Photo:stevevance, Creative Commons, Flickr
Blogger Tom Sullivan is right to be skeptical about Home Depot's announced buyback. Mr. Sullivan ends his ValuePlays blog entry begging for "details boys… details."
I own Home Depot (HD – $40.29) and will continue to hold onto it. Did I buy more during HD's recent fall to $37? No. It didnt' make sense. The stock is good value here and at 37, but since their strategy is still not clear I'm happy to wait until that uncertainty is out of the stock. HD Value? Yes, this retailer still has a great brand even after years of neglecting their stores and staff. I think it can be repaired with an upgrade and a good advertising push. Besides, if everything were perfect at Home Depot it would have a p/e of 20 instead of 15. In the meantime, the greedy shareholder unfriendly CEO Nardelli is gone and the new team seems to be trying to help shareholders. The 2.4% dividend is not peanuts, and if they can show they understand retailing as well as they understand capital structure, the company might just takeoff and get that 20 p/e.
Disclosure: I own HD. I also occassionally shop at Home Depot stores. I find I spend about $150 an hour in the store. Even if I enter just to buy one item, I still end up spending $150/hour wandering the aisles. I am guessing I'm not alone in this. My last purchase of Home Depot was in February .
