HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.55.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HPQ shares. Bank of America downgraded HP from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on HP from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on HP from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Citigroup downgraded HP from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on HP from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd.

HP Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of HP stock traded down $0.52 on Friday, reaching $36.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,489,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,784,349. The company has a market capitalization of $35.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $35.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.67. HP has a 52 week low of $27.01 and a 52 week high of $39.52.

HP (NYSE:HPQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The computer maker reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that HP will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

HP announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the computer maker to repurchase up to 28.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at HP

In other news, CEO Enrique Lores sold 211,501 shares of HP stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.16, for a total value of $7,013,373.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $99.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HP

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of HP during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of HP during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of HP during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of HP by 115.1% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 968 shares of the computer maker's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of HP during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 77.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.