HP (NYSE:HPQ) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $25.00 to $22.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. HP traded as low as $19.58 and last traded at $19.7890, with a volume of 19617236 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.37.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (down previously from $24.00) on shares of HP in a research report on Friday. HSBC set a $30.00 price target on shares of HP and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of HP from $29.00 to $25.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded HP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of HP in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at HP

In other HP news, insider Ketan M. Patel sold 33,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.19, for a total transaction of $772,713.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 34,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $801,724.68. The trade was a 49.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Enrique Lores sold 41,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.00, for a total value of $1,089,972.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 141,456 shares in the company, valued at $3,677,856. This represents a 22.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 110,123 shares of company stock worth $2,784,126. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in HP by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 281,761 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $7,326,000 after buying an additional 27,669 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of HP by 40.7% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 42,060 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 12,156 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of HP by 11.0% during the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 46,908 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 4,663 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in HP by 56.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 24,518 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 8,855 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in HP by 4.8% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 35,288 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618 shares during the last quarter. 77.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HP Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.57.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The computer maker reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. HP had a net margin of 4.57% and a negative return on equity of 330.68%. The company had revenue of $14.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. HP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.200 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.730-0.810 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that HP Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from HP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. HP’s payout ratio is presently 45.28%.

HP Company Profile

HP Inc is an American multinational information technology company that designs, manufactures and sells personal computing devices, printers and related supplies and services. Its product portfolio spans consumer and commercial notebooks and desktops, workstations, displays and accessories, as well as an extensive line of printing hardware that includes home, office and production printers. HP also provides consumables such as ink and toner, managed print services, device deployment and lifecycle support, and software for device and print management.

Founded from the original Hewlett‑Packard Company, HP Inc became a separately traded public company in 2015 following a corporate split that created Hewlett Packard Enterprise to focus on enterprise hardware and services.