Will 2016 Be Home Depot’s Best Year Yet?

The Home Depot, Inc. (The Home Depot) is a home improvement retailer. The Home Depot stores sell an assortment of building materials, home improvement products, lawn, garden products and provides services as well. The Home Depot stores average approximately 104,000 square feet of enclosed space, with approximately 24,000 additional square feet of outside garden area.

In July, we said that Home Depot (HD) stock is considered bullish because of its rising revenues which beat the industry average and its strong ROE. Also the recent strengthening of the housing market, due in part to rock-bottom interest rates, has unquestionably helped boost share prices. Since that time, the stock price has increased 15.00%, as the article correctly predicted.

Many factors affected 2015 for Home Depot. One was the rise in the housing market. Capital spending on private residential buildings rose to $620 billion in the third quarter of 2015; this is a huge increase compared to $555 billion a year earlier.

But the company is not just at the right place and time. The company is growing at a faster pace than its competitor Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW), most recently posting 7.3% higher comps against its smaller rival’s 5% uptick.

Home Depot’s operating margin has more than doubled since the bottom of the housing market crisis while Lowe’s margin is still in single numbers.

HD stock has enjoyed an extremely good 2015: it went up 27% for the year.

Home Depot has shown strong internal finances and operations. Expenses have been going up at a slower rate than revenue growth, which has allowed Home Depot to expand its margins and grow its profitability. The company has decided to benefit investors after this improvement. They boosted their dividend by double-digit percentages in 2015, and they are expected to do the same in this year. During 2015,  its stock kept hitting all-time highs. This year could be their best so far.