** Home Depot HD.N forecast a surprise drop in 2025 profit on Tuesday as the company grapples with a weak housing market and high interest rates that are making U.S. consumers wary of making big expenditures

** Median PT of 39 brokerages covering the stock is $440, with an average rating of a "buy" - LSEG data

NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET

** Piper Sandler ("overweight," PT: $435) says the pace of comp recovery has certainly become less clear over the last month due to government policy changes and stubbornly high mortgage rates** But the brokerage added "we still expect a strong bounce-back recovery in remodel activity over the next 2-3 years"

** RBC ("sector perform," PT: $424) says with housing trends stable and EPS now somewhat de-risked, HD seems more attractive on a relative basis, but continues to view a category recovery as more of a 2026 dynamic

** Telsy Advisory Group ("outperform," PT: $455) expects some recovery in the home improvement market in 2025, although gains may be dampened given elevated interest rates, followed by a more robust environment in 2026 with HD returning to both solid sales and earnings growth

** Bernstein ("market perform," PT: $421) says SRS will be embedded in comp sales from the second half of Q2 onwards, which will help offset the hurricane impact in H2 FY24

(Reporting by Joel Jose in Bengaluru)

((joeljose@thomsonreuters.com))