UPDATE: BMO Capital Markets Reiterates Home Depot at Buy, Raises PT

In a report published Tuesday, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a Buy rating on The Home Depot Inc.

, and raised its price target from $54 to $72. BMO Capital Markets noted, "3Q12 sales strength was pervasive as all three US divisions had positive comp-store sales and early November sales are “quite good.” The sales strength was buoyed by gains in both ticket and traffic as average ticket grew 2.9% to $54.55 and total transactions grew 1.8% to 331 million. Importantly, transactions over $900 (20% of sales) grew 4.3%, signaling to us that consumer spending on bigger-ticket projects (appliances, flooring, and in-stock kitchens) is accelerating. This notion is reinforced by a continuation of the pickup in the company's professional business (~30% of sales), notably in important geographic areas such as Northern California and Florida. [We] maintain our Market Perform rating, and raise our price target from $54 to $72." Home Depot closed at $63.38 on Tuesday.