HP (NYSE:HPQ) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of HP (NYSE:HPQ – Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the computer maker’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group set a $30.00 target price on HP in a research report on Thursday, November 24th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on HP from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on HP from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on HP from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on HP from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $29.40.

HP Price Performance

NYSE:HPQ opened at $28.04 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $28.92 and a 200 day moving average of $27.96. The company has a market capitalization of $27.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.01. HP has a 1-year low of $24.08 and a 1-year high of $41.47.

HP (NYSE:HPQ – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The computer maker reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $13.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.17 billion. HP had a negative return on equity of 141.20% and a net margin of 4.36%. HP’s quarterly revenue was down 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that HP will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

HP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.2625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 7th. This represents a $1.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. HP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.83%.

Insider Activity at HP

In related news, insider David P. Mcquarrie sold 20,609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.64, for a total transaction of $549,023.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,551 shares in the company, valued at $121,238.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider David P. Mcquarrie sold 20,609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.64, for a total value of $549,023.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $121,238.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Marie Myers sold 7,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.87, for a total value of $220,440.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,648 shares in the company, valued at $676,495.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,749 shares of company stock worth $2,105,460 over the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP grew its stake in shares of HP by 2.8% in the second quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 11,089 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of HP by 5.4% in the third quarter. FourThought Financial LLC now owns 7,052 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Glassman Wealth Services grew its stake in shares of HP by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,869 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of HP by 3.3% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 12,030 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of HP by 4.4% in the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,551 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 79.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HP Company Profile

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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.