Home Depot was a mistake but selling it now would compound it. Why we're hanging on

Home Depot shares on Tuesday worked their way modestly higher after a down open on a quarterly update that was just OK and a status quo outlook. Revenue for the first quarter ended May 3 advanced 4.8% year over year to $41.77 billion, outpacing the $41.52 billion expected by LSEG. Earnings per share (EPS) declined 3.7% to $3.43, but exceeded the $3.41 analyst estimate. HD YTD mountain Home Depot YTD We're sticking with Home Depot for now, but the unfavorable rise in market interest rates leaves us with no choice but to cut our price target on the stock to $360 per share from $420. Investors are not going to pay up as much for a housing play tied to mortgage rates when rates are rising. We're reiterating our hold-equivalent 2 rating . Bottom line Despite beating on the top and bottom lines, quarterly same-store sales came up short. Those results, against the backdrop of rising bond yields, were good enough to keep the stock from declining even further. At this point, we'll take it. But, as Jim Cramer has said repeatedly before and after the print, we do regret getting involved with this name in the first place. It's not so much a management issue, though we do think the team at Lowe's is doing a better job lately. We'll know for sure when Lowe's reports earnings on Wednesday morning. A quick look at the stock charts of Lowe's and Home Depot shows investors are not rewarding the execution at Lowe's much more than they are at Home Depot. …