UPDATE: Home Depot Tops Q4 Views, Shares Gain

Shares of

rose over 2% in pre-market trading after the company reported upbeat results for the fourth quarter and raised its quarterly dividend. The company lifted its quarterly dividend to $0.59 per share from $0.47 per share and announced an $18 billion buyback program. The Atlanta, Georgia-based company posted quarterly net income of $1.38 billion, or $1.05 per share, compared to $1.01 billion, or $0.73 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, Home Depot's earnings climbed 37% to $1.00 per share. Its net sales surged 8.3% to $19.16 billion in the quarter. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.89 per share on revenue of $18.7 billion. Same-store sales climbed 7.9% in the quarter. "We had a strong finish to the year, as strength across the store, the recovering U.S. housing market and solid execution aided our business in 2014," said Craig Menear, chairman, CEO and president. For fiscal 2015, the company projects earnings of $5.11 to $5.17 per share, sales to rise 3.5% to 4.7%, and comparable-store sales to increase 3.3% to 4.5%. The company also plans to open 6 new stores in the fiscal 2015. Home Depot projects currency headwinds to impact net sales by around $1 billion and earnings by around $0.06 per share in fiscal 2015. Home Depot shares surged 2.07% to $114.60 in pre-market trading.