Home Depot Stock (NYSE:HD) News Today: Truist Lifts Price Target to $390 as Housing Signals Stay Mixed

Home Depot stock (NYSE:HD) is in focus on December 17, 2025, as investors weigh a fresh analyst price-target increase, a housing backdrop that remains “better—but not fixed,” and a growing list of non-operational headlines that can shape short-term sentiment.

As of the latest market update today, Home Depot shares traded at about $356, up roughly 1% on the session after opening near $352 and moving in a $351–$357 intraday range.

That bounce follows Tuesday’s weaker close, when HD fell 1.21% to $352.68, leaving the stock about 17% below its 52-week high of $426.75 set on September 17, 2025. ^[1]

Below is a complete, publication-ready roundup of the key Home Depot stock news, forecasts, and analysis items dated December 17, 2025, plus the context investors are using to handicap the next 6–12 months.

Home Depot stock price action: A modest rebound after Tuesday’s slip

Home Depot’s December 17 move is best understood as a “reset” session after Tuesday’s decline. Tuesday’s underperformance was notable not because it was dramatic—but because it continued a pattern of choppy trading tied to housing turnover, mortgage-rate volatility, and consumer discretion. MarketWatch’s session recap for December 16 highlighted HD’s underperformance versus several large retail peers and noted the stock’s distance from its 52-week peak. ^[2]

Today’s rebound has come with a relatively ordinary intraday range, suggesting investors are currently trading HD more as a macro-linked bellwether (housing + rates) than as a single-stock story driven by a new fundamental shock.

Biggest stock-specific headline today: Truist raises Home Depot price target to $390

The most direct “HD stock” catalyst published today is an analyst note: Truist Securities raised its price target on Home Depot to $390 from $375 and maintained a Buy rating, according to an Investing.com report timestamped 12/17/2025. ^[3]

Why Truist’s note matters

Truist’s rationale captures the central debate in Home Depot right now:

Near-term trends are stable, but not accelerating the way some expected a year ago—making it harder to confidently call the inflection point in comps. ^[4]
The firm remains constructive on a multi-year upcycle thesis, pointing to recent rate cuts and a very large home-equity base (cited as exceeding $35 trillion) as potential fuel for bigger-ticket projects over time. ^[5]
Truist also flagged a potential early-2026 “tax refund season” boost that could help near-term sentiment even if the housing market remains sluggish. ^[6]

Investing.com’s write-up also summarized a series of other recent price-target changes following Home Depot’s investor-day framework (including updates from UBS, D.A. Davidson, RBC, and Piper Sandler). ^[7]

Takeaway for investors: A raised target from Truist is supportive—but the logic is explicitly time-dependent: it’s less “everything is improving now” and more “the setup remains attractive if/when housing loosens.”

Housing data published today: Mortgage applications fall, rates tick up

Because Home Depot’s big-ticket categories often correlate with moving activity, remodel cycles, and household balance-sheet confidence, today’s mortgage data is a material read-through even though it’s not Home Depot-specific.

Mortgage applications: down 3.8% week over week

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications decreased 3.8% for the week ending Dec. 12, 2025, with declines in both purchase and refinance measures. MBA’s Chief Economist tied the dip to rates inching up after the latest FOMC communication. ^[8]

MBA 30-year mortgage rate: up to 6.38%

On the same release cycle, the MBA’s weekly 30-year mortgage rate was 6.38% (vs. 6.33% prior). ^[9]

Mortgage Market Index: down to 315.6

The headline Mortgage Market Index printed 315.6, down from 327.9 previously. ^[10]

Why this matters for HD stock:
Even modest back-and-forth in mortgage rates can slow the housing “unlock” effect—keeping turnover muted and delaying the kind of move-related renovation demand that typically lifts categories like flooring, kitchens, and other larger projects. It also supports the idea that the Home Depot story is still about timing as much as quality.

The strategic backdrop: Home Depot’s 2026 framework set a conservative bar

While today’s headlines are incremental, the underlying reference point for HD valuation right now is still the company’s December 9, 2025 investor and analyst update, where Home Depot reaffirmed FY2025 guidance and laid out a preliminary FY2026 view.

FY2025: reaffirmed, modest growth but lower EPS

Home Depot reaffirmed fiscal 2025 guidance that includes:

~3% total sales growth (with GMS expected to contribute ~$2B incremental sales)
Comparable sales expected to be slightly positive on a comparable 52-week basis
Diluted EPS expected to decline ~6% vs. FY2024, and adjusted EPS expected to decline ~5% ^[11]

FY2026 preliminary outlook: modest sales growth, flat-to-up EPS

For fiscal 2026, Home Depot outlined:

Home-improvement market of -1% to +1%
Comparable sales growth of ~flat to +2%
Total sales growth of ~2.5% to 4.5%
Diluted and adjusted EPS growth ~flat to +4% ^[12]

Reuters emphasized that the company’s preliminary 2026 comps and EPS outlook came in below analysts’ expectations (as compiled by LSEG), reflecting continued cooling in big-ticket DIY demand and a housing market that hasn’t found a clear catalyst yet. ^[13]

“Market recovery case”: what upside could look like

Home Depot also described a scenario where housing activity recovers more meaningfully, with:

Total sales growth ~5% to 6%
Comparable sales growth ~4% to 5%
EPS growth mid-to-high single digits ^[14]

Why this framework matters today:
It effectively tells investors: base case = slow grind; upside case = operating leverage returns. That’s why many current analyst notes (including today’s Truist move) focus less on “this quarter” and more on whether the market is nearing the conditions that could trigger the recovery case.

Analyst forecasts for HD stock: what the Street expects as of Dec. 17, 2025

Across major forecast aggregators, Home Depot’s consensus view remains broadly constructive—but with noticeable dispersion depending on coverage lists.

Here’s what multiple widely followed trackers show around today’s pricing:

MarketBeat: average target around $402 with a $320–$470 range (34 analysts). ^[15]
Investing.com consensus page: average target about $398.88 with a $320–$465 range, with a “Buy”-leaning consensus based on its analyst set. ^[16]
StockAnalysis: average target about $421 with “Buy” consensus (based on its tracked analysts). ^[17]
TipRanks: average target about $406.75 with a wide high/low band in its dataset. ^[18]

Interpreting the spread

The difference between “~$399” and “~$421” doesn’t necessarily mean analysts disagree massively—it often reflects:

Different analyst universes (some trackers include fewer banks)
Timing (new notes roll in and out)
Whether a platform emphasizes the most recent target vs. a longer averaging window

A practical way to read it: In mid-$350s pricing today, consensus implies low-double-digit upside over the next 12 months, but analysts want clearer evidence that the housing market is shifting from “stuck” to “unsticking.”

Dividend and shareholder return context: income support, but not the whole story

Home Depot continues to be treated by many investors as a “quality + shareholder return” name during a slow demand cycle.

MarketBeat’s recap noted Home Depot’s $2.30 quarterly dividend, payable December 18, 2025, implying $9.20 annualized and roughly ~2.6% yield (as stated in that report). ^[19]

For stock performance, the dividend helps cushion drawdowns—but earnings trajectory and comp inflection still dominate whether the multiple expands or compresses.

Other notable Home Depot headlines dated Dec. 17, 2025

Not every headline is equally material to long-term value, but some can move sentiment, especially in a macro-sensitive stock.

1) TV personality commentary: Cramer highlights a “risk-off” tilt within housing exposure

A December 17 Insider Monkey report summarized Jim Cramer saying he shifted toward Home Depot (and Lowe’s) as a way to reduce risk versus more cyclical housing-linked names—framing HD as a steadier way to stay exposed to the theme. ^[20]

This isn’t fundamental guidance, but it can influence retail attention and short-term positioning.

2) Legal/PR headline: Schall Law Firm announces an “investigation” press release

A Globe Newswire release published today said the Schall Law Firm is investigating claims on behalf of investors, referencing Home Depot’s Nov. 18, 2025 Q3 results and the stock drop that day. The release describes this as an investigation into whether the company made misleading statements or omitted information. ^[21]

Important nuance: These releases are common after large single-day drops and do not necessarily indicate regulatory action or that wrongdoing occurred—yet they can create headline overhang for some investors.

3) Broader reputational/political risk: parking-lot immigration enforcement becomes a national talking point

The Financial Times published a report today describing how Home Depot parking lots have become a focal point for immigration enforcement activity and public backlash, raising questions about the operational and reputational implications for large retailers. ^[22]

This is not a core earnings driver in the same way as comps and margins, but it is the kind of developing story that can affect brand perception and media attention.

Home Depot stock outlook: bull case vs. bear case (as of Dec. 17)

The bull case for HD stock

Operating leverage if comps turn positive in a more durable way (Home Depot’s own recovery-case framework points to faster profit growth than sales in a rebound). ^[23]
Analysts like Truist remain confident in a multi-year upcycle once housing conditions normalize, with home equity often cited as long-term project fuel. ^[24]
Consensus price targets across major trackers cluster in the low $400s, implying upside if the macro stops fighting the model. ^[25]

The bear case for HD stock

Mortgage data today reinforces that housing activity may remain uneven: applications fell and rates ticked up. ^[26]
Home Depot’s own FY2026 preliminary guide is measured, and Reuters notes it was below what analysts had been modeling. ^[27]
Non-operational headlines (legal solicitations, reputational stories) can pressure multiples in the short run even if they don’t change the core earnings path. ^[28]

What to watch next for Home Depot stock

Earnings date window (late February 2026): Several earnings calendars list around Feb. 24, 2026 as the expected timing, though some services flag it as unconfirmed. ^[29]
Housing and rate data cadence: Weekly MBA reads and broader mortgage-rate trends remain high-frequency indicators for HD demand. ^[30]
Investor-day execution: The market will track whether initiatives tied to Pro penetration, interconnected retail, and acquisition-driven growth show up in margins and comps consistent with the company’s framework. ^[31]
Analyst target revisions: Today’s Truist raise is supportive, but the broader analyst community is still calibrating targets to a slow-growth base case. ^[32]

Bottom line

On December 17, 2025, Home Depot stock is trading higher as the market digests a Truist price-target increase to $390, mixed-but-important housing indicators (mortgage rates up, applications down), and a set of headlines ranging from investor commentary to legal and reputational news. ^[33]

For investors, the near-term question is still timing: when housing activity and consumer confidence shift enough to turn “stable” demand into “growing” demand. The longer-term debate remains intact: whether Home Depot can translate any housing thaw into outsized earnings leverage—the scenario many analysts continue to underwrite, even while acknowledging the path may be uneven. ^[34]

References

Home Depot Stock (NYSE:HD) News Today: Truist Lifts Price Target to $390 as Housing Signals Stay Mixed — December 17, 2025