Home Depot (HD) shares saw a 5% gain Tuesday, a performance that handily beat all the other components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU).

This stock is on a roll, rising nearly 15% in the past three months.

You'd think the company wouldn't be faring all that well. The housing market is dismal, with home prices continuing to drop. Homeowners are cash-strapped, with little money budgeted for major renovation projects.

So why all the investor love Tuesday? Perhaps it was because Home Depot gave a peek into its newest strategy at a breakfast it held with analysts, Barron's reports.

Home Depot is shifting its model to cater to do-it-yourself customers, Darren Bassman, an analyst with Janney Capital Markets, wrote in a note obtained by Barron's. The company plans to change its product mix in stores to focus on smaller projects.

"Clearly, the company's goal to achieve 10% operating margin is based on this scenario, with potential upside given any macro tailwind," Bassman adds. He thinks Home Depot could grow earnings by at least 15% next year, noting the company's ability to repurchase about 8% of outstanding shares with more than $4.2 billion in free cash flow.

It's a smart strategy. Absent any real progress in the housing market, Home Depot needs to go where the money is. And right now, the money is in small projects that homeowners can accomplish themselves over one or two weekends without breaking their bank accounts.

DIY is the future, at least in the near term.

I saw evidence of this at rival Lowe's (LOW) recently. The chain had big displays featuring a DIY Network tile backsplash kit, among other projects.

Home Depot also got some nice news from Fitch, which lifted the company's credit rating based on strong operations, good cash flow and positive same-store sales, according to Wall St. Cheat Sheet.

The company reported an exceptionally strong third quarter, buoyed by consumer spending before and after Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast. Profit rose 12% to $934 million, or 60 cents a share -- one penny higher than analysts had expected. Sales rose 4% to $17.3 billion, higher than the $17.1 billion expected.

Earlier this month, the company raised its quarterly dividend by 16% to 29 cents a share. A dividend yield of 3.1% is nothing to sneeze at.