'We Don't Have Contracts With DHS or ICE': Home Depot Stock (NYSE:HD) Slips as it Fights Rumors
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Just days ago, mostly through social media, a rumor emerged that said Home Depot was receiving a $250 million payday from the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arm. That payment gave ICE the ability to stake out Home Depot parking lots looking for illegal immigrants. While Home Depot has certainly expressed support for the Trump administration in the past, the rumor was quickly quashed and declared just what it was: a rumor.
Home Depot representative Beth Marlowe offered up a statement from the company, saying 'This story is false. We don't have contracts with DHS or ICE. We aren't notified that ICE activities are going to happen, and we aren't involved in them. In many cases, we don't know that arrests have taken place until after they're over.' To underscore the point, Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, offered a statement as well, calling the claim 'ridiculous' and '…just another attempt to smear our brave ICE law enforcement.'
The Skelly Effect
Meanwhile, yesterday, we revealed that Home Depot was rolling out the Halloween decorations perhaps a little early. But a lot of that new line is focused on Skelly, a giant skeleton model, as well as some new additions like Skelly's cat and dog. As it turns out, Skelly is giving Home Depot a surprising advantage over its competitors in the field, as it serves as a kind of status symbol.
Back in 2020, through 2023, Skelly units would routinely sell out, sometimes in as little as a few hours. And homes would even keep them up year-round, decorating them for the season with leprechaun garb on St. Patrick's Day or Uncle Sam outfits for the Fourth of July. Customers call the decoration '…realistic without being too scary or graphic,' and that makes it an attractive draw that competitors are rushing to compete against.
Is Home Depot a Good Long-Term Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on HD stock based on 18 Buys and six Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 2.49% rally in its share price over the past year, the average HD price target of $428.12 per share implies 13.77% upside potential.
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