Today featured strange news for home improvement giant Home Depot (HD). Did you know there is a segment of people out there who try to make money by buying home decorative items and then reselling them later on? Home Depot proves to be one of their biggest targets. But more immediately, Home Depot also settled a class action lawsuit over accessibility. This was good enough for investors, who sent Home Depot shares up fractionally in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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The lawsuit was not especially big, from the sounds of it, as Home Depot reportedly settled out of court for $65,000, and none of that is going to the plaintiffs. Basically, the suit alleged that Home Depot violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not offering checkout space that was “…private, safe, independent and equal access to those who are blind.”
The biggest problem seems to be with the “readily achievable” access portion of the Act. Apparently, the accommodations Home Depot offered were not readily accomplished, nor did they provide service without a lot of difficulty or extra expense. The terminals particularly faltered in audio outputs for totals, as well as for cash-back options and the amount of cash dispensed as change. Home Depot denied liability, reports note, but did settle for $65,000. That cash will be used to make accessibility improvements and pay legal fees.
Now, About That Artoo….
So now we get to the part about “flipping Artoo.” Specifically, I refer to R2-D2, the lovable astromech droid from the Star Wars series. Home Depot rolled out a model of Artoo, with Christmas lights draped over him, as a $300 decoration, about 3.5 feet high. Most stores are sold out already, and the resale market appears to be brisk.
Star Wars collectors, you may be surprised to find, are extremely interested, to the point where prices on eBay (EBAY) are currently running from $650 to $1,200 each. And Home Depot is expecting to restock Artoo in “select locations” within the next several weeks. This means that those interested in finding one, whether for display or resale, will want to start keeping an eye on Home Depot for their own R2-D2 unit.
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 2.48% loss in its share price over the past year, the average HD price target of $446.30 per share implies 15.22% upside potential.
