Under normal circumstances, word of a class action lawsuit launching would normally not be a good thing for stockholders. However, the new lawsuit aimed at home improvement giant Home Depot (HD) did not seem to be much problem for shareholders at all. In fact, shares were up nearly 1.5% in Friday morning’s trading despite the lawsuit.
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The suit was not aimed at Home Depot directly, reports noted, but rather Blinds.com, which Home Depot owns. The suit, led by plaintiff Sarah Perkins, claimed that Blinds.com had sent “…consumers emails advertising false discounts on window coverings.” The emails claimed discounts of up to 50% were available, though these discounts were only available for a certain time.
The suit notes that window coverings at Blinds.com were “…almost always available at a discounted price,” thus the emails did nothing more than “…create a false sense of urgency…” designed to push customers into making a purchase. This, Perkins’ suit alleges, is a violation of the Commercial Electronic Mail Act in Washington state, as well as its Consumer Protection Act. Though it is easy to wonder, at that point, where the suit’s merit actually lies if the promised discounts were indeed available and provided. But that is for a court to decide.
Maybe Don’t Threaten Strangers in a Home Depot Parking Lot
Meanwhile, an ongoing issue focused on a Home Depot location in Toronto is calling attention to a familiar issue at the store: shoplifting. While out buying plants for his Muskoka cottage back in July, Premier Doug Ford took himself to Home Depot. And while there, he ran into what he believed at the time was a shoplifter. Ford confronted the shoplifter in strong, even obscene, terms, but experts say that this is probably not the route to take.
Instead, experts noted, a better option is to record what is going on, and share that information with police. Intervention comes with risks of its own, including assault. NDP leader Marit Stiles, in both repudiation of Ford’s response and as a general assessment, noted, “We don’t need Batman.”
Is Home Depot a Good Long-Term Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on HD stock based on 19 Buys and six Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 6.65% loss in its share price over the past year, the average HD price target of $446.30 per share implies 13.8% upside potential.
