Piper Jaffray Raises PT On Home Depot Following Earnings Beat

Home Depot's HD Q3 EPS of $0.51 topped Piper Jaffray's estimate of $0.47 and consensus of $0.48. Piper is encouraged by HD's gross margin expansion and expense control in Q3, but continue to be guarded about the pace of unemployment and the housing recovery. Piper is slightly raising its price target from $27 to $28 based on F11E EPS of $2.13 and maintain a Neutral rating. HD's Q3 EPS of $0.51 was above PJC's estimate of $0.47 and consensus of $0.48. Recall that HD did not provide specific EPS guidance for Q3 on the Q2 call. Total sales came in lighter than expected driven by total comp store sales growth of +1.4% vs. Piper's total comp estimate of +1.5% and consensus of ~+1.7%. Piper Jaffray is raising its price target slightly to $28 from $27 based on 13x our F11E EPS of $2.14. It continues to maintain a Neutral rating. Risks include the economy, weather, competition, and executing the store turnaround program. HD is trading lower at $31.35