Home Depot (NYSE: HD) on Tuesday announced a strong finish to its fiscal 2019 and projected another record sales year ahead. Image source: Getty Images. What happened? Sales growth sped up, with comparable-store sales rising 5% compared to 4% in the third quarter. That uptick met management's forecast and helped the company stand out from other national retailers like Walmart and Target, which announced slowing growth in late 2019. Home Depot's net earnings rose 6%, although profitability fell slightly as the chain spent more cash on its stores and on upgrades to its digital offerings . Looking ahead The home improvement company projected another year of elevated spending ahead, which should keep operating margin down at about 14% of sales from roughly 14.5% in 2018. Home Depot sees another record year for revenue as comps rise by between 3.5% and 4%, buoyed by strong consumer spending in the housing and home improvement markets. Management also took the opportunity to raise the annual dividend payment by 10%. The stock now pays $6 per share, which equates to about 57% of the expected earnings haul this year of $10.45 per share. 10 stocks we like better than Home DepotWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Home Depot wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of December 1, 2019 Demitrios Kalogeropoulos owns shares of Home Depot. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Home Depot and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $120 calls on Home Depot. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source