HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.14.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HPQ shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of HP from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on HP from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded HP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on HP from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of HP from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th.

HP Price Performance

Shares of HPQ traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $23.42. The stock had a trading volume of 10,168,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,806,852. The firm has a market cap of $22.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.34, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.09. HP has a 52 week low of $21.21 and a 52 week high of $39.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.13.

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HP (NYSE:HPQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The computer maker reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.74. The business had revenue of $13.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.35 billion. HP had a net margin of 5.18% and a negative return on equity of 253.39%. As a group, research analysts expect that HP will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HP Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.2894 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. HP's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.37%.

Insider Activity at HP

In related news, insider Anneliese Olson sold 21,545 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.49, for a total value of $613,817.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 169 shares in the company, valued at $4,814.81. The trade was a 99.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephanie Liebman sold 15,646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $453,734.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HP

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Amundi raised its position in HP by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,561,399 shares of the computer maker's stock worth $217,319,000 after purchasing an additional 899,349 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of HP by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,350,016 shares of the computer maker's stock worth $825,398,000 after buying an additional 579,525 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of HP by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,153,924 shares of the computer maker's stock valued at $41,391,000 after acquiring an additional 160,268 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC boosted its holdings in HP by 169.3% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 34,682 shares of the computer maker's stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 21,805 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in HP by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 146,608 shares of the computer maker's stock worth $5,259,000 after acquiring an additional 47,230 shares during the last quarter. 77.53% of the stock is currently 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.