Put The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) on Your “Honey-do” List

Home Depot’s following includes do-it-yourself homeowners and small contractors. HD is nicely benefiting from the improving housing market picture. Home sweet home has been anything but for scores of Americans the last several years, but things are changing. Home prices are rising across the country, in part because builders aren’t putting homes up fast enough. Inventories are down and sales of existing homes are rising. Plus, a plethora of individuals are waiting around in their residences for a true housing market rebound (i.e. better selling price), and some are simply spending more time at home. Both camps are shelling out some big bucks on improving both the interior and exterior of their abodes.

Lower pricing, better customer service and more centralized distribution centers have helped Home Depot chip away at Lowe’s market share. The industry leader’s return to targeted marketing and merchandising, plus its quick move to cut costs in the wake of the bursting housing bubble, have also set Home Depot apart.

Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) remains the best way to play the housing market recovery via its stash of housing supplies. And, it continues to widen its lead over Lowe’s. Home building stocks have gotten ahead of themselves, but dabbling in Well Fargo, the country’s largest mortgage lender, is one way to go. Wells (NYSE:WFC) continues to dominate mortgage markets as housing is crawls out of its six-year slump. This Warren Buffett favorite has posted a profit for 13 consecutive quarters. Among big banks, more conservative Wells fared the best during the financial crisis, giving it a leg-up on its peers. But banks in general have left myriad market participants leery of the sector. So, head to Home Depot.

Perhaps Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) is being conservative in its outlook for 2013. If so, investors could be handsomely rewarded in upcoming quarters. Whatever’s on your honey-do list, make sure you pencil in “Buy HD.”

The article Put Home Depot on Your “Honey-do” List originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Diane Alter.

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