So around this time of year, things start to get a bit confusing. When are stores actually open? Which store will be open on one of the few days a year you can count on to be off from work: Thanksgiving, or Christmas? Home improvement giant Home Depot (HD) recently stepped up and made it clear that its employees will not be in that day, as every location will close for Thanksgiving. Shareholders turned out to be oddly pleased with this and sent shares up fractionally in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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Indeed, Home Depot locations will be shuttered on November 27, and Home Depot recently went a little farther out to declare that it would be closed Christmas Day as well. This gives Home Depot employees a chance to be home with their families, where applicable. It also keeps Home Depot off the line of fire from community shaming that calls into question why a home improvement store needs to be open on that one particular day.
Home Depot will be joining a growing list of stores that will be shut down for the holidays, including some that might seem odd like Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT). But closing stores for the holidays offers a clear benefit for employee morale and preventing social media from excoriating the company running said stores. Besides, when Thanksgiving closures are involved, this allows stores to better prepare for the shopping frenzy and unofficial holiday of Black Friday.
But Until Then…
Still, Thanksgiving is a long way out; a little over seven weeks. And in the meantime, Home Depot will have plenty of items to offer customers, including some new arrivals. Reports note that several new items are in stock at Home Depot, including some that will be useful in the near term.
Recent arrivals include a 65 quart cooler from Lifetime, a three-piece set of “faceless witch” lawn decorations with LED lighting, a five-shelf bookcase, and a security camera with floodlight system. Plus, there is a newly-arrived leaf blower, a propane patio heater, and an outdoor firepit with metal screen and included poker that should be particularly useful for the cooler months.
Is Home Depot a Good Long-Term Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on HD stock based on 19 Buys and six Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 6% loss in its share price over the past year, the average HD price target of $446.30 per share implies 15.34% upside potential.
