HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.55.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HPQ shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of HP from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on HP from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on HP from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on HP from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of HP from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th.

HP Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of HPQ opened at $36.81 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.90. HP has a 52 week low of $27.42 and a 52 week high of $39.52. The stock has a market cap of $35.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.07.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The computer maker reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.03). HP had a negative return on equity of 266.37% and a net margin of 5.33%. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. HP’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that HP will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HP announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the computer maker to reacquire up to 28.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at HP

In related news, CEO Enrique Lores sold 211,501 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.16, for a total value of $7,013,373.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of HP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in HP by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,778,246 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $3,649,919,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,441 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in shares of HP by 6.2% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 22,451,096 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $786,237,000 after buying an additional 1,319,731 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HP by 11.4% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 14,184,306 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $508,791,000 after buying an additional 1,455,138 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of HP by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,710,450 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $375,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in HP by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,402,432 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $294,253,000 after acquiring an additional 287,861 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.53% of the company’s stock.

HP Company Profile

HP Inc provides products, technologies, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses, and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. It operates through Personal Systems and Printing segments. The Personal Systems segment offers commercial personal computers (PCs), consumer PCs, workstations, thin clients, commercial tablets and mobility devices, retail point-of-sale systems, displays and other related accessories, software, support, and services for the commercial and consumer markets.