HP (NYSE:HPQ) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of HP (NYSE:HPQ - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on HPQ. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on HP from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on HP from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on HP from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of HP from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of HP from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.14.

Remove Ads

HP Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE HPQ traded up $0.55 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.42. 10,168,027 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,807,575. HP has a fifty-two week low of $21.21 and a fifty-two week high of $39.80. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $29.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.08 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.09.

HP (NYSE:HPQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The computer maker reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.74. The business had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.35 billion. HP had a net margin of 5.18% and a negative return on equity of 253.39%. Equities analysts forecast that HP will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HP Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of HP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in HP during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of HP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of HP during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in HP by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the computer maker's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the period. 77.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About HP

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.