It is the kind of thing we probably should have seen coming. Home improvement giant Home Depot (HD) has been front and center these days as part of federal government raids targeting illegal immigration, and now, the counter-protests are starting up. Once again Home Depot is on the front lines, and the news is not especially welcome for investors, who just want to see Home Depot sell tools and decoration items. Home Depot stock slipped fractionally in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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The protest hit a Home Depot in Back of the Yards, a “community area” in Chicago. One of, as it turns out, 77 official such areas. Anyway, the counter-protest was designed, reports note, to support a set of community organizations like the Latino Union of Chicago and the Raise the Floor Alliance.
In fact, reports note, these organizations are increasingly concerned about the state of illegal immigration, calling the raids an “escalating crisis.” Given that the government recently pulled off what it called Operation Midway Blitz, which resulted in over 500 arrests, the idea that these raids will stop, or even slow down, any time soon seems unlikely.
A Surprise Christmas Destination
Are you considering your Christmas shopping yet? I know, that seems like a lot to think about right now, but with Christmas less than 90 days away, some are already thinking about it. And Home Depot is also thinking about it, as revealed by the new Holiday Gift Edit system.
The Holiday Gift Edit is a set of “curated Pinterest (PINS) boards” that feature gift ideas, and of course, where they can be found at Home Depot. With a study from Morning Consult revealing that better than three out of four Millennials want practical gifts over luxury items, Home Depot has an excellent opportunity to position itself as the place to shop for Millennial Christmas gifts this year.
Is Home Depot a Good Long-Term Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on HD stock based on 19 Buys and seven Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 0.55% loss in its share price over the past year, the average HD price target of $446.30 per share implies 9.98% upside potential.
