UPDATE: J.P. Morgan Reiterates Overweight Rating, Raises PT on The Home Depot on Strong Same-Store Sales Gain

In a report published Wednesday, J.P. Morgan reiterated its Overweight rating on The Home Depot HD, and raised its price target from $70.00 to $74.00. J.P. Morgan noted, “Indeed, we continue to argue that HD is a core multiyear holding, but one must “manage the chart.” With internal momentum building, we expect Home Depot to benefit from its refocused branding and value proposition, which have driven favorable traffic and ticket trends at the retailer. In addition, internal initiatives enable Home Depot to gain share versus its competitors. These efforts should yield accelerating incremental margins, impressive cash flow generation, and EBITDA growth that will necessitate more balance sheet leverage (resulting in greater buybacks and dividends).” The Home Depot closed on Tuesday at $67.56.